Russia claimed on Tuesday (Mar 12) that it had thwarted an armed incursion by Ukrainian armed troops and “sabotage and reconnaissance groups” into the western border districts of Kursk and Belgorod.
Ukraine-based armed groups earlier said that they had launched cross-border raids. But Moscow claimed that its forces prevented incursions and inflicted heavy losses on the attackers.
Anti-Kremlin armed forces, supposedly composed of Russians opposed to the Ukraine war, earlier claimed to have begun an incursion across Russia’s border on Tuesday.
According to the Russian defence ministry, the Ukrainian “terrorist formations” backed by tanks and armoured combat vehicles tried to invade in three separate directions in the Belgorod region at about 3:00 am Moscow time (0000 GMT).
The ministry added that four more attacks by Ukrainian “sabotage and reconnaissance groups” were repulsed around five hours later in Russia’s Kursk region.
At least two Ukraine-based armed groups, the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Siberian Battalion, claimed responsibility for the raids.
In a Telegram post, the Legion said, “We will take our land from the regime centimetre by centimetre.”
Andriy Yusov, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s military intelligence, told Ukraine’s 24 Channel the groups were conducting the operation on Russian territory independently of Ukraine.
He said a third group, the Russian Volunteer Corps, was also participating in the operation. However, the group hasn’t taken responsibility yet.
These attacks happened just three days before the start of voting in a Russian presidential election. Referring to the polls, the Freedom of Russia Legion posted on social media: “The people will vote for whom they want, not for whom they have to. Russians will live freely.”
Watch: Russia Presidential elections: Russia spy service accuses US of trying to meddle in polls
Schools in Kursk are closed
In the aftermath of the Ukrainian cross-border incursion, schools in the Russian city of Kursk reportedly switched to online classes, the TASS news agency cited local authorities as saying.
Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on Ukraine-Russia war on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos
