Russia still fending off alleged Ukrainian incursion, local official says

Russian military and security forces continued on Tuesday to prevent an attack suspected by Ukrainian saboteurs that was first reported the previous day in the Russian border region, according to Russian officials.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region on the border with Ukraine, said military and security forces continued to sweep the area around the town of Graivoron, where the alleged attack took place on Monday.

Gladkov urged residents in the evacuated areas on Monday to stay put and not return to their homes.

“We will tell you immediately … when it is safe,” Gladkov said. “Security agencies are taking all necessary actions. We are waiting for the counterterrorism operation to be completed.”

Moscow struggled amid the invasion

Kyiv has denied the allegations, blaming Russian guerrilla groups that support Ukraine. Neither version of events can be independently verified.

While this is not the first time Russia has blamed an attack by Ukrainian saboteurs, it is the first time that operations to counter the attack have continued for a second day, showing the struggle Moscow is facing amid the invasion of Ukraine.

“Russia faces an increasingly serious multi-domain security threat in its border areas, with the loss of fighter jets, improvised explosive device attacks on rail lines, and now outright partisan action,” the UK Defense Secretary said in a tweet on Tuesday.

According to Gladkov, an elderly woman was killed during the evacuation, and two others were wounded “in the settlement where the enemy was placed.” That brings the total number of injured during the attack to 10.

Gladkov first reported on Monday afternoon that a group of Ukrainian Armed Forces saboteurs entered Graivoron, a town about five kilometers from the border with Ukraine. The city was also under Ukrainian artillery fire, he said.

He then announced a counterterrorist operation in the area, and said that the authorities are implementing special controls, including checking personal documents, and stopping the work of companies that use “dangerous explosive, radioactive, chemical and biological materials.”

Legion of ‘Freedom of Russia’

Ukrainian officials blamed the incident on Russian armed guerrilla groups. Ukrainian intelligence representative Andrii Cherniak said Russian citizens belonging to a murky group calling itself the Russian Volunteer Corps and the “Freedom of Russia” Legion were behind the attack.

The Russian Volunteer Corps claimed in a Telegram post that it had crossed the border into Russia again, after claiming to have breached the border in early March.

The Russian Volunteer Corps describes itself as a “volunteer formation fighting on the side of Ukraine.” Little is known about the group, and it is unclear whether it has any ties to the Ukrainian military. The same goes for the “Freedom of Russia” Legion.

In addition to the alleged attack, Gladkov reported several drone attacks on Graivoron and other settlements in the Belgorod region on Monday night. The attack caused no casualties, but damaged buildings and caused fires. On Tuesday morning, two more drones were shot down by the area’s air defense system.

Belgorod region in southwestern Russia, like neighboring Bryansk region and several others, has witnessed sporadic spillover from the 15-month war, with border towns and villages regularly subjected to shelling and drone attacks.