Conflict intensifies as Russian volunteers capture town in Belgorod region
The border region of Russia with Ukraine has seemed as though another front had opened there for over a week now. Russian volunteers, with the assistance of Kyiv, announced on Sunday that they had taken control of one of the towns in the Belgorod region. Moscow is retaliating by deploying sabotage groups to the Sumy region.
On Sunday, the Siberian Battalion and the "Freedom of Russia" Legion channels on Telegram posted photos and videos, claiming to show that, with the aid of Chechen fighters, they had seized the town of Gorkovsky in the Belgorod region of Russia, right on the border with Ukraine. They are pictured removing flags from a local school building, including the Russian national flag. Preliminary inspection suggests that the building indeed matches the one seen in photos available on Google Maps.
On the Siberian Battalion's channel, there is a photo of a group of soldiers, with faces blurred, standing atop the Russian flag, presumably taken from an administrative building in Gorkovsky.
Naturally, Russian official news agencies have not confirmed the volunteers' claims. TASS quotes a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defence, declaring that "all attempts to breach the border in the Belgorod region have been repelled".
According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, during the clashes, 65 fighters were killed, and both an infantry fighting vehicle and a D-20 howitzer cannon were destroyed.
"Villages have virtually disappeared"
Journalist Aliona Yasyna described the situation in the south of the Sumy region on Espreso TV. She mentioned that the border towns, which had been the target of attacks by Russian volunteers on Kozinka in the Belgorod region since Tuesday, were heavily bombarded by Putin's forces.
"The Velykopysarivska area is one of those territories where active military operations have been ongoing for a week. As of today, it seems as though another front has opened there. Volunteers from the ‘Freedom of Russia’ Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps, and the Siberian Battalion have crossed into the territory of the Russian Federation through this community. Consequently, the area is under Russian bombardment," Yasyna stated.
She added that the border villages were almost completely obliterated. "Actual fights are occurring on the territory of the Russian Federation. Nevertheless, the conflict is extending into Ukrainian territory. Throughout the day, as many as 150 rockets are being fired there. This indicates that the villages along the border with Russia have virtually vanished," she concluded.
Russia sends sabotage groups
The Kremlin is also deploying its sabotage units to wreak havoc on the Ukrainian side of the border. On Sunday, the Ukrainian Border Guard reported that within 24 hours, with support from soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, it foiled border incursions by three such groups in the north of the Sumy region.
From the statement of the General Staff of the AFU, it is known that skirmishes with the saboteurs occurred in the towns of Stara Huta and Bruski in the Sumy region.
Source: Telegram/ Espreso/ State Border Service of Ukraine/TASS
