Rebel gains in Russia as Putin faces electoral test amid unrest
17 March 2024 20:33
Russian volunteers, operating with the help and support of Kyiv, announced on Sunday that they had captured one of the towns in the Belgorod Oblast. Now, information about another village under the control of Russian rebels has come to light. The forces of Vladimir Putin are struggling against this rebel offensive.
Sunday marks the conclusion of the presidential elections in Russia, which unfold two years following the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine and a month after the demise in custody of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. The election follows constitutional amendments that eliminated the presidential term limit for Vladimir Putin.
In Russia, amid the presidential elections, vocal opposition to Vladimir Putin's adversaries echoes. Rebels have just targeted the Belgorod Oblast.
Recently, Russian volunteers fighting for Ukraine within the "Siberian Battalion" heralded the seizure of the administrative building of the Gorkovsky settlement in the Belgorod Oblast. Their triumphs on the battlefield, however, do not stop there as they press on.
As corroborated by the Russian Liberty Legion, the village of Gorkovsky in the Belgorod Oblast now falls under the dominion of Russian volunteers. This marks another modest triumph in the ongoing offensive.
The volunteers' information, nonetheless, awaits confirmation from official Russian news outlets. TASS conveyed a declaration from the Russian Ministry of Defence, maintaining that "all incursions at the border in the Belgorod Oblast have been thwarted".
Moreover, they contend that the border towns, targeted by Russian volunteers from Kozinka in the Belgorod Oblast since Tuesday, have endured intensive bombardment by Vladimir Putin's forces.
It is pertinent to remember that units of the Russian Liberty Legion and the Siberian Battalion, Russian partisan groups, initially crossed the border into the Belgorod and Kursk Oblasts in Russia on March 12.
Are Russians weary of Vladimir Putin?
Notably, in connection with this on Sunday, March 17, substantial queues of individuals dissenting against the regime formed outside polling stations. Videos from the vicinity of polling stations and images of ballots inscribed with derogatory slogans targeting the dictator are circulating online.
