Russian troops and security forces fought for a second day Tuesday against an alleged cross-border raid that Moscow blamed on Ukrainian military saboteurs but which Kyiv portrayed as an uprising against the Kremlin by Russian partisans.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region on the Ukraine border, said forces continued to sweep the rural area around the town of Graivoron, where the alleged attack on Monday took place. Twelve civilians were wounded in the attack, he said, and an older woman died during the evacuation.
Gladkov urged residents of the area who evacuated to stay put and not come back to their homes just yet. “We will let you know immediately … when it is safe,” Gladkov said. “Security agencies are carrying out all the necessary actions. We’re waiting for the counterterrorism operation to be over.”
It was impossible to independently verify who was behind the attack or what its aims were. Disinformation has been one of the weapons of the almost 15-month war.
While it is not the first time Russia has alleged an incursion by Ukrainian saboteurs, it is the first time the operation to counter the raid has continued for a second day, highlighting the struggles Moscow is facing amid its bogged-down invasion of Ukraine and embarrassing the Kremlin.
Russian territory and Russia-occupied areas of Ukraine have also been hit by drones and explosions that have derailed trains, though Kyiv officials brush off accusations of orchestrating them.
Ukraine said that Russian citizens belonging to murky groups calling themselves the Russian Volunteer Corps and the “Freedom of Russia” Legion were behind the assault.
Russian dissidents unhappy about Russian President Vladimir Putin’s policies were behind the assault, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said Tuesday.
“These are Russian patriots, as we understand it. People who actually rebelled against the Putin regime,” she said.
The “Freedom of Russia” Legion in its Telegram channel on Tuesday claimed both groups were still operating in the Belgorod area and aimed to “liberate” the region.Belgorod officials earlier this year said they had spent nearly 10 billion rubles (USD 125 million; 116 million euros) on fortifications to protect the region from an incursion amid the war.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the raid “elicits deep concerns,” and a “bigger effort” is required to prevent such raids in the future.