Fighting has broken out along the Russian border with Ukraine after self-described Russian partisan forces claimed to have overrun a border village within Russia for the first time in the war.
The Freedom of Russia Legion, which describes itself as an anti-Kremlin militia seeking to liberate Russia from Vladimir Putin, said it had crossed the border and overrun the settlement of Kozinka, while sending units into the town of Grayvoron in Russia’s Belgorod region.
Footage of the raid, purportedly from a border checkpoint in Grayvoron, showed casualties including a Russian officer lying face down in a pool of blood next to Russian passports and other documents scattered on the floor. The video also showed armoured vehicles appearing to overrun the post.
Another anti-Kremlin militia, the Russian Volunteer Corps, which is led by a prominent Russian nationalist, also said it had taken part in the raid. Late on Monday it released video footage showing what it said was a fighter inspecting a captured armoured vehicle.
Smoke was reportedly seen after unconfirmed reports that a drone had been used to drop explosives on an office of the FSB security service.
The Belgorod governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said eight people were wounded after the town came under Ukrainian artillery fire, news agencies reported. Most residents had left the area but the situation remained “tense”, he said.
In nearby Zamostye village, a projectile hit a kindergarten and caused a fire. One woman was wounded in her hand, Gladkov said.
Under expanded powers, authorities were authorised to limit activities and movement and to suspend or restrict communication services including mobile networks and the internet.
The growing chaos in the Belgorod region, where local authorities announced a “counterterrorist regime” on Monday evening, was a rare case where Russian villages have come face-to-face with a conflict that their army has unleashed across Ukraine. Both Russia and Ukrainian officials have confirmed fighting at the border.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had been informed and work was under way to drive out the “saboteurs”, the state-run RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Any capture of territory had not been independently confirmed by journalists on the ground. The Freedom of Russia Legion is not known to have participated in any major battles during the war.
“We are the same Russians as you,” said a statement put out by the Freedom of Russia Legion on social media. “We are distinguished only by the fact that we no longer wanted to justify the actions of criminals in power and took up arms to defend our and your freedom. But today it’s time for everyone to take responsibility for their future. It’s time to put an end to the Kremlin’s dictatorship.”
Video posted to social media showed a Russian Mi-8 helicopter trailing flares over Kozinka and videos of smoke rising from the settlement with emergency sirens clearly audible. Hundreds of cars were filmed leaving the area. “Something terrifying is happening,” said one woman filming from her window as a helicopter over Kozinka dropped flares meant to divert surface-to-air missiles.
The governor of the Belgorod region confirmed an attack on Monday, writing that “sabotage and reconnaissance group of the armed forces of Ukraine have entered the territory of the Grayvoron district. The armed forces of the Russian Federation, together with the border service, Rosgvardiya and the FSB, are taking the necessary measures to eliminate the enemy.”
The Kremlin said Moscow believed the attack was designed to “divert attention” from Bakhmut, the Ukrainian city where Russia is tightening its grip.
Ukraine has disavowed connection to the Russian partisan fighters, saying that they act independently and are not subject to military control.
“Yes, today the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion, which consist of citizens of the Russian Federation, have launched an operation to liberate these territories of the Belgorod region from the so-called Putin regime and push back the enemy in order to create a certain security zone to protect the Ukrainian civilian population,” Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence, told Ukrainian media.
A Ukrainian presidential adviser wrote that Kyiv was “watching the events in the Belgorod region” but had nothing to do with the attacks – then wryly compared them to Russia’s past use of proxy forces to fight in Ukraine. “As you know, tanks are sold at any Russian military store, and underground guerrilla groups are composed of Russian citizens,” wrote Mykhailo Podolyak, the adviser.
When Russia’s forces infiltrated Crimea as part of its illegal invasion and annexation in 2014, Vladimir Putin used similar language, saying they were local people who had bought their Russian-looking uniforms in military surplus shops.
The US and other western powers have supplied weapons to Ukraine with the caveat that they not be used to strike targets inside Russia. Ukraine has denied any connection to past attacks on Russian territory, including strikes that have hit Russian airfields, energy infrastructure, and even the drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this month.
It is not clear whether the raid is part of a sustained military strategy or meant as a diversionary strike, as expectations remain that Ukraine is preparing to launch a summer counteroffensive to retake territory occupied by Russia.
But clashes are increasing along the border in the Belgorod and Bryansk regions. Earlier this month, four Russian military aircraft, including two jets and two helicopters, were shot down in one of the worst single-day losses of the war.
In March, the Moscow-born far-right militia leader Denis Nikitin claimed to have led a raid into a town in Bryansk.
