An incursion by pro-Ukrainian Russians into the Belgorod region in western Russia appears to have stopped after images of several armored vehicles used by the Russian Freedom Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps appeared on social media as being captured or destroyed by the military. of Russia

In this way, Russian troops recaptured the border crossing point “Grayvoron”. The Russian Freedom Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps have so far reported no casualties in the attack, but Russian security forces have managed to capture or destroy several armored vehicles used by the groups, according to the OSINTdefender group, which monitors open intelligence sources.

It is noted that the images were taken after the Russian Ministry of Defense released a video showing armored combat vehicles destroyed during a “counter-terrorist” operation to eliminate a “Ukrainian sabotage and intelligence group” that moved from Ukraine to the Belgorod region.

Whatever armor the two armed groups fighting on the side of the Ukrainians would lose

According to OSINTdefend, two guerrilla groups lost

• -3 American Humvees
• -2 MaxxPro mine-resistant machines
• -1 Ukrainian armored car KRAZ COBRA
• -1 Polish car AMZ Dzik-2

According to OSINTdefender, most of this equipment can be geolocated at the Grayvoron checkpoint, confirming that Russian forces are once again in control of the Ukrainian-Russian border at least at this point.

The United States has expressed skepticism about reports that US-supplied weapons were used in an attack on Russian soil, a State Department spokesman said on Tuesday, adding that Washington does not encourage or condone strikes inside Russia, Reuters reported.

Earlier today, Russia said it had surrounded “terrorists” and killed more than 70 of them, and pushed the rest back to Ukraine.

“Nationalist armed formations were surrounded and liquidated. More than 70 Ukrainian terrorists have been eliminated,” said Ihor Konashenkov, the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense.

However, Financial Times journalist Christopher Miller later wrote that he had spoken with the leader of the Russian Volunteer Corps, Denis Nikitin, one of the guerrilla groups believed to have been involved in the Belgorod invasion along with members of the Russian Legion of Freedom, and that he was in good spirits.

Meanwhile, the “Russian Legion of Freedom” even claimed that it had managed to “demilitarize” or destroy an entire motorized rifle company.

Russia describes the Ukrainian militants, and Kyiv says they come from two anti-Kremlin paramilitary groups.

Ukrainian officials say they are Russian citizens from the Russian Legion of Freedom and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RUSC), who are trying to create a “safe zone” for Ukrainians.

Both groups were previously called part of the International Legion, which participates in the territorial defense of Ukraine.

Andriy Yusov of Kyiv’s intelligence agency said both groups operated “autonomously on Russian territory” and Ukrainians were not involved, while Ukrainian television said they were militias and “Russian volunteers.”

The Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) gained notoriety in March 2023 for participating in a cross-border raid in Russia’s Bryansk region that it said involved 45 people.

What is the Russian Volunteer Corps?

The Russian Volunteer Corps is a paramilitary formation founded in August 2022 by the Russian Denis Nikitin and consists of ultra-nationalists, most of whom have fought since 2014 in the Ukrainian Azov battalion, EFE writes, Agerpres reports.

The organization’s guiding principle is intolerance of any collaboration with the heirs of the Soviet regime, including President Vladimir Putin, who, according to members, seeks “the destruction of Russians as an ethnic group.”

They declare themselves the heirs of the Russian émigré movement “White Idea”, created in the 1930s by the émigré Viktor Larionov, a staunch enemy of the Bolshevik government.

According to the media, in 2022 the Russian volunteer corps took part in battles in the Ukrainian regions of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk. However, they gained media attention after two terrorist attacks in the Bryansk region of Russia in March and April 2023, and most recently in the Belgorod region, where they captured several towns.

What is the Legion of Freedom for Russia

The Legion of Freedom for Russia was formed in March 2022, shortly after the start of the Russian campaign in Ukraine, from deserters from the armed forces of the Russian Federation, as well as Russian and Belarusian emigrants without military experience.

This formation, the purpose of which is “refusal of Russian aggression in Ukraine and the overthrow of the regime of Vladimir Putin”, has two battalions and participates both in hostilities in the east of the country and in sabotage on the territory of Russia.

Among its participants is the former vice president of the Russian bank Gazprombank, Ukrainian by origin Ihor Volobuev, who joined the group in June 2022 after leaving Russia.

Together with the Russian volunteer corps, the legion took part in a raid in the Belgorod region on May 22.

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