“It has not been a good morning for the city of Shebekino”, said yesterday Thursday the governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, while denouncing the “continuous attacks” that this city near the Ukrainian border still receives and other towns in the same area. After what appears to be a preview of Ukraine’s announced counteroffensive, or perhaps part of its strategy to prepare the conditions for it, the authorities in this Russian region had to very quickly organize the evacuation of part of the population The Ministry of Defense, for its part, assured that it had repelled with aviation and artillery three attacks in this region by groups that tried to “invade” Russian territory.
According to Moscow, dozens of soldiers and military vehicles took part in the Ukrainian operation. “After an intense bombardment of civilian facilities in the Belgorod region, Ukrainian terrorist groups with up to two companies of motorized infantry reinforced with tanks attempted to invade Russian territory,” the ministry said through its spokesman. , Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov. “The armed forces of Russia, together with units of the Border Guard Service and the Federal Security Service (FSB) dismantled a new attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack against the civilian population,” he added.
The penetration attempt took place “near the town of Nóvaia Talvojanka and the Shebékino checkpoint”, indicated Defensa, which claimed to have “annihilated more than 30 Ukrainian terrorists, four armored personnel carriers, a Grad shuttle and a car “.
Previously, the Russian Freedom Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (CVR), the two armed groups that at the end of May staged an incursion from Ukraine also in Belgorod province, had announced a new infiltration into Russia with two videos allegedly recorded from the territory of this country.
“The second phase (of the operation) promised by the commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps has begun!”, read one of the messages published on the Telegram account of this formation made up of Russian volunteers.
The two groups have been fighting for months with the Ukrainian army against Russian forces and say they intend to defeat with the weapons of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The Russian Freedom Legion video was allegedly shot in the city of Graivoron, also in Belgorod. In this video, they stated their intention to “liberate all of Russia from Belgorod to Vladivostok”.
Awaiting the much-heralded Ukrainian counter-offensive after more than 15 months of armed conflict, Russia has come under constant attacks in recent days. In addition to last week’s raid by these two anti-Putin groups, a barrage of drones arrived in Moscow on Tuesday, May 30, a further psychological blow that caused “minor damage to residential buildings.
Hours before the statement from the Ministry of Defence, Governor Gladkov released some information indicating that Ukrainian troops had arrived on Russian territory. “There was and is no enemy in the region,” said Gladkov, who explained that what Shebekino, a town of 39,000 inhabitants, was suffering from were “continuous attacks.”
Yesterday there were nine wounded in that city, the regional chief said. A residence was also set on fire and damage was recorded in a local administration building.
More than a hundred residents had to leave the city and were taken in by the regional capital, which is also called Belgorod, as the mayor explained.
Gladkov explained that they are sending the most vulnerable population of Shebekino and other populations to other regions of Russia.
It was also not a good afternoon for that Russian province, which, as it borders Ukraine, during the first months of the conflict was the subject of sporadic attacks that have become more frequent in recent months. A drone struck the capital and injured two.
