A group that claimed responsibility for the attack, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), said on Wednesday it had not lost any men and said its actions had exposed weaknesses on Russia's borders.
RVC group, one of the volunteer groups claiming to fight with Ukraine against Russia. Photo: AP
Ukraine has denied any involvement in the fighting on Monday and Tuesday. Kiev has denied that two Russian groups, including the RVC, are volunteers fighting alongside Ukrainian forces in an uprising against Russian rule.
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said an elderly woman died during the chaotic evacuation and 12 people were injured in recent attacks and shelling in the region.
Two groups, the RVC and the Freedom of Russia Legion, claimed responsibility for the attack and announced an ambitious goal of “liberating” the Belgorod region. However, little is known about the two groups.
In early March, the RVC claimed responsibility for an attack in Russia's Bryansk region, another border area.
The Freedom of Russia Legion website says the group was founded last spring “by the Russians who want to fight and are officially recognized by the Kiev army.” “We are fighting in full cooperation with the Armed Forces of Ukraine and under the leadership of the Ukrainian command,” the website says.
Denis Nikitin, a prominent Russian far-right figure, described himself as the commander of the RVC when he met reporters on Wednesday in the Sumy region of northern Ukraine bordering Russia. He described the group as “a right-wing, conservative, military, semi- political organization.” He declined to say how many soldiers were involved in the Belgorod raid.
Nikitin said that inside Ukraine, the RVC's actions were planned with the knowledge and support of the Ukrainian military, but anything outside the country's borders “is the group's independent decision.”
He added that RVC has its own sources of military equipment. Ukrainian officials have never confirmed any ties to either group. The Kiev government has denied any involvement in this week’s incident in Belgorod.
Russia called it an incursion by saboteurs deployed by Kiev. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the attack in Belgorod was a diversion, aimed at “drawing attention” from Russia’s victory in the city of Bakhmut, which Moscow said it had captured over the weekend after months of fierce fighting.
Trung Kien (according to AP)
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