Two Russian pro-Ukraine militant groups that claimed to have invaded Russia’s border region over the past two days boasted on Wednesday of the “success” of their operation, which they said was a sign of weak Russian defenses. AFP.

The founder of one such group, Denys Kapustin from the Russian volunteer corps, addressed journalists in the north of Ukraine, not far from the Russian border, assuring that the success of getting to Russia and returning to Ukraine can be considered a success.

The attack, which pro-Ukrainian militants say, took place in Belgorod region on Monday, when Moscow reported an incursion by groups of “saboteurs” from Ukraine, the worst incident since Ukrainian shelling of Russian villages, resulting in one fatality. and 13 wounded.

“The operation is ongoing and has several stages,” said Kapustin, a prominent figure in the Russian right-wing extremist world who settled in Ukraine before the war, where he organized mixed martial arts (MMA) fights and owned a clothing brand. .

According to him, this type of invasion forces the Russian military to redeploy “a large number” of forces, thus weakening other sections of the border and the front.

A spokesman for the other group that claimed responsibility for the raid, “Caesar” of the Russian Legion of Freedom, called the operation “unbelievable” as he posed in front of the armored vehicle, which he assured was a “trophy” captured by Russian forces. .

Hailing from St. Petersburg, Russia, “Caesar” has been identified by the Russian media as a member of an imperialist and nationalist group in Russia.

The 30 fighters who appeared before the media said they spent almost 24 hours in Russian territory before returning to Ukraine early Wednesday.

Kremlin says it killed 70 “partisans” / “We had only two wounded”

Moscow said on Tuesday it had repelled the incursion with artillery and air power and had killed “more than 70 Ukrainian terrorists”.

The fighters, who call themselves “right-wing conservatives and traditionalists”, said they only had two injuries. Some of them had previously openly presented themselves as neo-Nazis.

According to Kapustin, Moscow’s reaction to this invasion showed that “Russia’s military and political leadership is completely unprepared for such situations.”

“I want to prove to them that we can fight against tyrants and that Putin’s power is not unlimited,” he added, assuring that he was fighting against “injustice” and “torture.”

Although Ukraine denies any responsibility for the invasion, Kapustin claims that Kyiv “encouraged” them, but did not supply them with weapons or equipment.

Images released by Russian authorities show vehicles used by militants during the invasion and later captured, identified by the New York Times as US MRAPs.

While Ukraine received more than 500 such cars from Washington, “Caesar” assured that it bought them independently.

Russia on Wednesday vowed an “extremely tough” response to further armed incursions, two days after the worst attack by groups from Ukraine on Russian territory since the conflict with Ukraine began.

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