Russian security forces clashed with saboteurs in at least three locations inside Russia's Belgorod region, with the heaviest fighting near the town of Greyvoran, British intelligence said on May 23.
Moscow announced through its spokesman a short time ago that "Ukrainian militants" are still active in the Belgorod region, a day after local authorities launched an anti-terrorist operation there to push back what it described as a saboteur group from Ukraine.
N. Peskov stated that Russia's military campaign in Ukraine was launched to prevent such raids and that more efforts are needed from the Russian side to prevent such incidents. Kiev has stated that it is closely monitoring the situation in Belgorod and "has nothing to do with it".
While the identity of the saboteurs remains unconfirmed (they are funded by Ukraine), Russian anti-government units who say they are fighting on Ukraine's side have made their appearance.
These are the descendants of the infamous Vlasov division (which collaborated with the Nazis in 1941-45).
We are talking about the "Russian Volunteer Corps" and the "Legion of Freedom for Russia", which claimed responsibility for the attacks in the Russian city.
Russian authorities have evacuated several villages and deployed extra strong security forces in the area.
"Russia faces an increasingly serious multi-domain security threat in its border regions, with IED attacks on rail lines and now direct insurgent action," the British intelligence report says.
"Russia will almost certainly use these incidents to support the official narrative that it is the victim in the war," the British state.
The attacks destroyed an administrative building, several residential buildings and a kindergarten in the area, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov, who said there were no casualties.
In a Telegram post, groups calling themselves the "Legion of Freedom of Russia" and the "Russian Volunteer Corps" said they had "liberated" a settlement in the Belgorod region, which borders Ukraine.
Russian anti-Putin militants have claimed responsibility or an attack in the southwestern region of Belgorod, Russia, CNN also reports.
A Ukrainian official acknowledged that the units had carried out an operation in the region, but insisted that they were acting independently of Kiev, which of course is not to be believed.
"We can confirm that this operation was carried out by Russian citizens," Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine's military intelligence service, told CNN
He said these units were "part of the defense and security forces" when they were in Ukraine, but they were independent from Kiev acting as independent entities.
Local media reported that buildings housing the Russian Interior Ministry and the FSB security service had been attacked in Belgorod.
Moscow's forces remain engaged in operations against cross-border raiders who entered Russia from Ukraine in one of the boldest attacks on Russian soil since Russia's operation in Kiev began 15 months ago, Aljazeera reported.
The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Tuesday that an "anti-terrorist operation" was continuing against a Ukrainian "sabotage group" that had entered Russian territory in the Graivoron region bordering Ukraine.
The Russian governor told residents who fled Graivoron that it was "not yet possible to return" to their homes.
One woman was killed and two people were injured, he added.
The Ukrainians, along with the US, are taking the war into Russian territory with amphibious operations aimed at provoking Russian discontent with Putin and his policy in Ukraine. We expect Moscow's reaction to all this.
