Moscow claims to have pushed back the fighters it says launched a cross-border attack from Ukraine into the Belgorod region. There has been little clarity about who ordered the attack. Russia has claimed it was carried out by “Ukrainian militants”, dismissing reports they had self-identified as an ethnic Russian, anti-Kremlin militia. The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said there were many ethnic Russians inside Ukraine, but that this did not mean they were not Ukrainian militants. Kyiv has disavowed any connection to the Russian partisan fighters, saying they act independently and are not subject to military control.
Russia’s defence ministry claims that remnants of the units it blamed for the attack have now been forced back into Ukrainian territory. In its daily briefing, the ministry said more than 70 attackers were killed. Russia’s investigative committee has opened an investigation into terrorism over the incident.
Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov had earlier warned residents against returning to their homes, saying that “The cleaning of the territory by the ministry of defence together with law enforcement agencies continues”. He confirmed that residents of nine settlements had been resettled as a result of the fighting.
Video footage posted online by one of the groups of Russian “partisans” appeared to show US manufactured military vehicles were involved in the raid including Humvees and what appeared to be International Maxxpro 1224 mine resistant vehicles. On Monday a US state department official reiterated the US policy that it did not support military action by Ukraine beyond Ukraine’s borders. The events of the past 48 hours appear to confirm assessments in US intelligence documents – leaked by US airman Jack Teixeira to Discord – that Ukraine has trained and armed Russian volunteers with Nato equipment.
