The Anti-Putin Militia groups~, which ostensibly operate under Ukraine’s military intelligence arm, released grainy, dark videos of fighters standing next to road signs in the Belgorod region, purportedly filmed during the nighttime raid early on Monday morning. The Post was unable to promptly confirm the videos’ authenticity. In one, a voice can be heard stating, “The RDK fighters have once again crossed the border,” using the initials of the Russian Volunteer Corps. “Russia will soon be free.”
The counsel to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, denied any direct involvement by Kyiv and stated that the armed groups were acting independently. On Twitter, Podolyak stated that Ukraine is observing the events “with interest and studying the situation” — a typical government response to attacks on Russian soil. Monday pyrotechnics in the region, including an attack on a Russian border post, were purportedly captured on video by Russian social media.
Ilya Ponomarev, a former member of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the State Duma, and a founder of the Free Russia Legion, stated that the primary focus of the attack was through the Kozinka checkpoint into the Grayvoron district of Belgorod. Ponomarev stated that the groups had also carried out attacks in the Bryansk region of Russia, near the Ukraine-Belarus frontier, and at another location further south. “Seven villages are now under control… spanning approximately 40 kilometers [25 miles] of Russian territory,” Ponomarev said in response to queries from The Post in a voice message. Ponomarev stated that a drone attack was conducted on the FSB and Interior Ministry buildings in the regional capital of Belgorod.
According to Ponomarev, the two groups consisted of five battalions and were members of the International Legion, a formation of foreign fighters under the command of Ukraine’s military intelligence. Ponomarev insisted, however, that the cross-border attack was plotted and executed solely by Russians, with no Ukrainian participation. His claims regarding the seven villages and other aspects of the attacks could not be independently verified.
Some of the footage from the Belgorod region, including three videos of what appears to be the saboteur group at Russia’s Kozinka border crossing, has been confirmed by The Washington Post. The videos, captured at various times and locations, confirmed reports that an attack had occurred and caused damage in the border region.
One of the videos depicts a Ukrainian soldier wearing fatigues with yellow tape insignia standing next to a damaged structure at the Kozinka checkpoint. Another video depicts armored vehicles bearing Ukrainian military markings, while a third, comprised of aerial footage, shows plumes of smoke ascending from the Kozinka highway. The governor of Belgorod, Gladkov, stated on Tuesday morning that Russian forces were “cleansing” the frontier region of pro-Ukrainian saboteurs. He requested that Grayvoron’s evacuees refrain from returning to their residences until it was safe to do so.
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