According to AFP, fighting is still ongoing between the Russian volunteers fighting for Ukraine and Russian forces in two Russian border regions. There are three groups that all call themselves Russian volunteers who say on social media that they have gone into action in Russia. The Legion for a Free Russia and the Siberian Battalion say they have both crossed the border. In addition, the Russian Volunteer Corps is said to have entered Russia. On Tuesday afternoon, one of the groups claims that they have taken control of the village of Tjotkino and that the Russian forces there have withdrawn. They say they are carrying out the attack as a demonstration against what they believe are Russian President Vladimir Putin’s attempts to destroy Russia and what they call his senseless war against Ukraine. OWN FLAG. The Legion for a Free Russia is very active on social media, and has, among other things, posted this photo with its own banner. Photo: AP Calls to ignore the presidential election – We will take our country back centimeter by centimeter, says a spokesperson for the Legion of a Free Russia in an appeal to the Russian people. The attacks are said to have taken place in Belgorod and Kursk counties. They border Kharkiv and Sumy counties in Ukraine. ATTACK MULTIPLE PLACES. The Russian volunteers are said to have entered Russia in Kursk and Belgorod counties. The Siberian Battalion has posted a video in which one of its soldiers urges Russians to ignore the presidential election in Russia. Russian military bloggers with good contacts in the Russian defense also confirm the attack by the Russian volunteers. They are described as instruments of the Ukrainian intelligence service SBU. Also in May 2023, there was a similar larger attack by Russian volunteers in the same area. Ukraine claims they are not involved Andriy Yusov, who is the spokesperson for the Ukrainian intelligence service, confirms to the TV channel Ukraina 24 that the Russian group has launched an attack. He says this is happening without Ukrainian interference. Nevertheless, one of the Russian volunteers who posted a video can be seen wearing a uniform with a Ukrainian flag on it. Some of the Russian volunteers fighting on the Ukrainian side have previously had connections with right-wing groups with clearer fascist features. But the vast majority say they are fighting to bring about a change in what they see as an increasingly authoritarian and dictatorial Russia. The Russian security service FSB is responsible for border guarding in Russia. They confirm that there has been an attack into Belgorod and Kursk counties, but say that this has been repulsed. THE ATTACK. The county administration in Belgorod is also said to have been attacked. This is a picture that the governor of the county has sent out and shows the damage after what is supposed to be a Ukrainian drone attack. Photo: The governor of Belgorod/Telegram According to the RIA news agency, the governor Roman Staravoit also confirms the attack. He also believes the attack has now been beaten back. But at the same time, he has sent out photos showing damage to the county administration in Belgorod, after what is said to have been a Ukrainian drone attack. In the neighboring county of Kursk, the authorities are now closing schools and switching to distance learning due to the security situation in the area. Small groups – but problematic for Putin The attack can be interpreted as a political mark to create unrest in Russia ahead of the presidential election on Sunday. The Russian volunteer groups fighting on the Ukrainian side are relatively small. They do not have the equipment and combat power for major attacks in Russia. Incumbent President Vladimir Putin will by all accounts be re-elected. There are no real opponents. Putin claimed a military victory when Russian forces took control of the town of Avdijivka in Ukraine’s Donetsk region in February. But the fact that Russian volunteers attack in this way into Russia at the same time as Ukraine last night carried out several large attacks on oil refineries around Russia, shows that the war is now increasingly taking place on Russian soil as well.
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Russian volunteers for attack from Ukraine – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
