According to independent publication The Moscow Times, at least 14 Russian soldiers were killed in a cross-border raid earlier this month by anti-Kremlin militias made up of Russian citizens, regional authorities said nearly a month after the incident.

Two anti-Kremlin militias fighting on the side of Ukraine staged raids in the Belgorod region of southwestern Russia on June 1.

At the time, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced that it had repelled the attacks of “Ukrainian terrorist formations”, without specifying the number of Russian military casualties.

Mykhailo Vedernikov, the governor of the Pskov region in northwestern Russia, said on Wednesday that at least 14 soldiers stationed in Belgorod were killed in the raids.

“They were killed at the beginning of the month during the attack of a sabotage and reconnaissance group on the Belgorod region,” said Vedernikov.

“Funerals were held last week and this week. Unfortunately, these are not the last days, as it is currently known about 14 (military, not) killed during these days,” Vedernikov added.

Vedernikov is probably referring to Russian servicemen who died during Yevgeny Prigozhin’s uprising, about which the Russian Ministry of Defense has not officially announced anything, although Russian President Vladimir Putin in his televised speech honored the memory of the soldiers who died on the day of the uprising. Merchant.

Moscow’s pro-war media circulated different figures for the Russian soldiers killed over the weekend by Wagner’s mercenaries during the “march” on Moscow, at least 13 soldiers lost their lives.

Russian soldiers, take them prisoner

Vedernikov also reported that 10 servicemen from Pskov were captured during cross-border raids, three of whom were taken to the country for exchange.

“We cannot inform you in detail about the fate of our fighters. I understand that it is difficult to remain in the dark about loved ones, but we simply do not have the right to release some data,” the governor said.

Cross-border raids by the Russian Volunteer Corps, a nationalist paramilitary formation and another militia called the Russian Legion of Freedom took place against the backdrop of heavy bombing of the Belgorod region on Ukrainian territory.

The raid took place shortly before the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Ukrainian officials have never claimed responsibility for the attacks, which prompted a mass evacuation from the Ukrainian border town of Shebekino.

The Ministry of Defense of Russia rarely talks about military losses during hostilities.

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