Russian leader Putin alleges border attack by Ukraine in a Russian hamlet, categorizing it as a 'terrorist act'.
Revised Article:
Vladimir Putin, Russia's president, asserted that a Ukrainian saboteur group breached a Russian border region on Thursday, committing a "terrorist act" by opening fire on civilians in a boundary town. The governor of Bryansk reported that these "saboteurs from Ukraine" targeted a civilian car in Lyubechane, killing two men and injuring a 10-year-old child.
Kyiv firmly denied Russia's claim, with Mykhaylo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky, labeling it a "classic calculated justification" on Twitter. He alleged that Russia aims to scare its people and justify attacks on another country.
The validity of the incident has not been independently verified. Russia has previously reported Ukrainian drone and missile strikes on Russian border regions, including Bryansk. However, there have been no confirmed reports of Ukrainian ground forces penetrating Russia.
On Thursday, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) claimed that FSB forces and regular soldiers clashed with "Ukrainian nationalists" who had crossed into Russia and taken hostages. The FSB asserted that these "nationalists" were then hit with a large Russian weapons strike and pushed back into Ukraine, leaving behind a large cache of explosives.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, President Putin branded the Kyiv government "nationalists" and "neo-Nazis," suggesting that Russia had to act against them. President Zelensky, who was democratically elected, has Jewish origins, and no far-right politicians in his government.
Speaking on Russian state TV on Thursday, Putin stated, "Today they committed another terrorist act, another crime, crossed the border area, and opened fire on private citizens." He continued, "They saw that it was a civilian car, that civilians and kids were sitting there, and opened fire. These are the individuals who aim to erase our historical memory. They will achieve nothing, we will catch them."
A video has surfaced online, claiming to show members of the Ukrainian-based Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) outside a local facility. One armed man in the video, posted on Telegram, claims they crossed into Russia.
The investigative journalism team Bellingcat Monitoring describes the RVC as "a network officially formed in 2014 consisting mainly of anti-Putin, anti-Kremlin Russian reactionary figures active in Ukraine." One of the men in the video has been identified by Bellingcat expert Michael Colborne as RVC leader Denis Kapustin, who also goes by the last name Nikitin.
"This RVC seems to do very little real fighting or at least serious combating, and Kapustin may have physical combat sports training but he is not from any kind of military background," Mr. Colborne told the BBC. In a text message accompanying the video, the RVC claimed they entered Bryansk region "to show our compatriots that there is hope, that free Russians bearing arms can fight the regime."
Regarding the RVC case, a Ukrainian military intelligence officer, Andriy Yusov, stated, "These are individuals who are fighting with arms against the Putin regime and those who support him. Perhaps Russians are starting to wake up, become aware of something, and take some concrete actions."
This week, Putin accused Ukraine and Western spies of carrying out espionage operations inside Russia. Russian officials stated a drone crashed in the Kolomna district just 100km (62 miles) from Moscow—though it was not verified to be Ukrainian—while two Ukrainian drones were presumably shot down in southern Russia.
Previously, Russia claimed drones had attacked an airbase in southern Russia used for launching aerial bombardments on Ukraine. Kyiv has not claimed drone strikes inside Russia, alleging that the Kremlin is engaging in propaganda.
Enrichment Data:
- The Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) is connected to the recent alleged cross-border incidents between Russia and Ukraine. This group is an irregular force consisting of anti-Kremlin Russians who work alongside Ukrainian forces and have been reported to conduct raids and attacks across the border into Russian territory. The RVC's activities correspond with the ongoing Ukrainian offensive actions inside Russian border regions, such as Kursk and Belgorod Oblasts, including raids and attacks on military and infrastructure targets within Russia.
- The RVC functions as an anti-Kremlin group that challenges Russia's internal security and military posture by conducting sabotage, raids, and guerrilla-style attacks inside Russia. Their operations aim to destabilize Russian border regions and divert Russian military resources away from Ukrainian fronts, contributing to Ukraine's offensive strategy.
- The RVC's role in the broader conflict is to challenge Russia's internal security and military posture, conduct sabotage, raids, and guerrilla-style attacks inside Russia, and contribute to Ukraine's offensive strategy by destabilizing Russian border regions and diverting Russian military resources.
The latest news reports mention the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), an anti-Kremlin force connected to cross-border incidents, engaging in sabotage and guerrilla-style attacks in Russian border regions, such as raids on military and infrastructure targets. In politics, there are allegations of espionage operations by Ukraine and Western spies within Russia, as seen in the recent drone incidents, though the validity of these claims remains unverified.
In a broader context of war-and-conflicts, the RVC's activities seem to be a part of Ukraine's offensive strategy, aiming to destabilize Russian border regions and divert Russian military resources away from Ukrainian fronts. Meanwhile, sports and general-news headlines suggest that tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to escalate, causing concerns about regional security and international relations.
