Russia is facing increasing threats on its border with Ukraine, with the worst recent incident being an incursion by an anti-regime group that launched an “anti-terrorist operation” in Russia’s Belgorod region, British intelligence said on Tuesday morning.



Here’s what Britain’s Ministry of Defense said in its Tuesday morning assessment:

• Between May 19 and 22, 2023, Russian security forces likely clashed with partisans in at least three locations in the Belgorod region of Russia, near the border with Ukraine.
• The identity of the guerrillas remains unconfirmed, but Russian anti-regime groups have claimed responsibility for the attacks.
• The most terrible incident happened near the city of Greyvoran. In addition to small arms fire, there has been an increase in drone attacks or fire attacks near incident sites.
• Russia evacuated several villages and sent additional security forces to the area.
• Russia faces an increasingly serious security threat in its border regions from the loss of fighter jets, attacks by improvised explosive devices on railway lines and, now, direct action by guerrillas.
• Russia will use these incidents to reinforce the official narrative that it is a victim of the war.

On Monday, the Volunteer Corps of the Russian Federation and the Russian Legion of Freedom announced that they had crossed the border and were “liberating” the settlements of the Belgorod region from the current Russian authorities: they started with the villages of Kozinka and Hora-Podol – but they want the “liberation” of all of Russia.

The governor of the Belgorod region of Russia said that a Ukrainian “sabotage group” entered the territory of Russia in the Graivoron district on the border with Ukraine and was being repelled.

But the Ukrainian publication “Hromadske”, citing Ukrainian military intelligence, claims that the attack was carried out by two armed groups of the Russian opposition – the Russian Freedom Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), which are made up of Russian citizens.

Russians continue to search for “terrorists”

Kremlin spokesman Dmytro Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been informed and that work was underway to expel the “saboteurs”, reports the state news agency RIA Novosti.

Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov reported in Telegram that the Russian army, border guards, the president’s guard and the FSB were involved in the operation. According to him, at least eight people were injured, three houses and an administrative building were damaged.

The governor of the Belgorod region of Russia said on Tuesday that the “anti-terrorist operation” in the region is ongoing, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and law enforcement agencies continue to “clean up” the territory from the border with Ukraine, Reuters reports.

The darkest day of Russian aviation

Recently, Moscow lost two fighter jets and two or three helicopters. But the darkest day of Russian aviation is shrouded in mystery.

Ukrainian Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ignat reported that five aircraft “had problems” during the combat mission. It should be noted that they were in Russian airspace, in the Bryansk region, while Ukrainian airspace was not. recognized any attacks from Russian territory.

The only Russian newspaper to report the downing of four Russian planes was Kommersant, which stated that Su-34 and Su-35 aircraft and two Mi-8 helicopters formed a raid group and were “shot down almost simultaneously” from an ambush. in the Bryansk region, located in the north-east of Ukraine.

“According to preliminary reports… the fighter jets were to launch a missile-bomb attack on targets in the Chernihiv region of Ukraine, and the helicopters were there to support them – among other things, to pick up the Su crews if they were shot down. “, reports Kommersant.

It should be noted that part of the Russian-Ukrainian border runs between the Russian Bryansk region and the Ukrainian Chernihiv region.

The independent publication Meduza found that all the social media accounts of the dead pilots had been deleted, but found 11 servicemen who died around the day the Russian jets were shot down.

The Patriot system, which was used to shoot down at least one Russian aircraft

One of the two Patriot anti-aircraft systems the Ukrainian military received from its Western allies has shot down at least one long-range Russian fighter jet in recent weeks, according to multiple U.S. sources cited by CNN.

Russian fighter jets are usually behind Moscow’s defense lines, meaning they are less likely to be hit by shorter-range Ukrainian systems such as NASAMS.

Sources of American television reported that the Russian planes hit by the Patriot system were carrying out the task of launching missiles at Ukrainian targets.

U.S. officials said Ukrainians are responsible for their own firing decisions, noting that they decide when and how to use Patriot air defense systems.

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