Belgorod region hit by drone strikes after attack carried out by pro-Ukrainian Russian Volunteer Corps
A pair of explosions rang out in the Russian city of Belgorod overnight as the building of the FSB security service and the offices of the Interior Ministry were targeted by drone strikes by Russian rebel groups opposed to Putin.
Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov confirmed that the aerial bombings had caused fires in government buildings and urged civilians to take shelter.
The attacks came just hours after a battalion of anti-Kremlin Russian nationals from Ukraine forged a path into the Belgorod region and seized control of several settlements.
Ukraine’s military intelligence said two armed Russian opposition groups, the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps, were behind the attack – the first armed incursion into Russian territory since Putin’s invasion of his neighboring country on February 24, 2022.
The attack was seemingly unexpected, with the rebels able to take control of several Russian cities within hours.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War, which monitors the conflict, said: “A detachment [of Russian rebels] consisting of two tanks, an armored personnel carrier and nine other armored vehicles crossed the international border and captured Kozinka, a settlement in the Graivoron region of Belgorod Oblast.
‘Several Russian sources claimed that the group then captured the settlements of Glotovo and Gora Podol (3 km and 5 km from the border, respectively).
While the majority of [Russian military commentators] reacted with relatively diverse concerns, fear and anger, the information space did not coalesce around one coherent answer, indicating primarily that the attack surprised Russian commentators.”
A volunteer anti-Kremlin fighter is depicted next to a captured Russian armored personnel carrier
Fire trucks and emergency services vehicles respond to fires in government buildings in Belgorod after a drone attack
Rebels claimed they had commandeered FSB armored cars in their attack
A row of armored vehicles driven by Russian rebels fighting on behalf of Ukraine
The Freedom of Russia Legion is a Ukraine-based Russian militia led by Russian opposition figure Ilya Ponomarev who claims to be working within Russia to overthrow Putin.
It said on Twitter it had “completely liberated” the border town of Kozinka and that forward units had reached the district center of Graivoron, further east.
‘To proceed. Russia will be free!’ it wrote.
Yesterday, the group shared a video on social media in which a handful of socialists vowed to free their homeland from Putin’s autocratic rule, while other clips showed anti-Putin rebels posing with flags in front of Russian road signs calling for an end to the ” The Kremlin Dictatorship.
Another video claimed to show a ‘trophy armored personnel carrier 82A’ belonging to Putin’s FSB seized by the insurgents.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak tweeted that Kiev was not involved, but confirmed that the government was “monitoring events in the Belgorod region,” before adding: “The Russian liberation movement can become something that will contribute to a proper end to the war in Ukraine.”
Meanwhile, Andrii Yusov – a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine – claimed that Russian authorities had ordered an immediate evacuation of the Belgorod-22 ammunition storage facility.
He claimed that the facility was home to tactical nuclear weapons, although this was not verified.
The armed invasion of Belgorod by the anti-Putin Russian volunteer units led to panic and a mass exodus of residents.
Gladkov told those who had fled late last night not to return to their homes until further notice due to security fears.
“In the Graivoron district, the Ministry of Defense and security forces continue to clear the area,” he said.
‘But I now appeal to the residents of the Graivoron district, who, thank you very much, have temporarily left their homes.
‘Don’t come back for now. We’ll let you know right away [when it is safe].’
Gladkov said yesterday that at least eight people were injured and an 82-year-old woman died during evacuations.
He added that he had imposed a “counter-terrorism regime,” giving authorities greater powers to curb people’s movement and communications.
In a video released online (pictured), fighters from the Russian Volunteer Corps said they were in Russia in the early hours of Monday morning
Pictured: A still from a video reportedly showing smoke rising over Russia’s Belgorod region on Sunday amid reports of a raid by Russian anti-Kremlin fighters
In a statement on Telegram, Governor Gladkov (pictured) said the Russian military and security forces were taking steps to repel the incursion
Pro-Russian sources made a series of claims in light of the Belgorod uprising.
The Rybar Telegram channel – close to Russia’s Defense Ministry – claimed today that the raid was choreographed by the British SAS.
“British specialists are responsible for this,” it wrote.
“We wrote back in May 2022 that… flights and sabotage operations in the border area with Russia were assigned to the officers of the British Special Air Service (SAS).
“Actually, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion were founded by British advisers, whose main purpose is to create division and confusion in the territory of the Russian Federation.”
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the head of the Russian Wagner mercenary group deployed to the Ukrainian front lines, claimed that the rebels’ incursion into Belgorod was another sign of the Russian defense ministry’s incompetence.
Prigozhin has hammered defense minister Sergei Shoigu and army chief Valery Gerasimov in recent weeks, accusing them of starving his mercenaries of ammunition and allowing regular Russian army troops to retreat, leaving his men exposed.
“There is a lack of management… Instead of being concerned with ensuring the security of the state, they are playing the fool. There is no governance, no desire and no individuals ready to defend their country,” he said in a statement.
Elsewhere in Russia, a military factory in the Bryansk region, which borders Belarus, was hit by several explosions during a suspected Ukrainian attack.
Smoke was billowing from the facility in Dyatkovo that belonged to a company called LLC NPP Alexander — a contractor from Vladimir Putin’s defense ministry, according to reports.
It is unclear whether the facility was hit by a drone strike, a missile or sabotage.