The Kremlin denounced a “terrorist attack” on Thursday while the Russian authorities claimed to be fighting a group of Ukrainian “saboteurs” infiltrating the Briansk region, on the border with Ukraine. A claim denied by Kyiv.
“We are talking about a terrorist attack. Measures are being taken to destroy the terrorists,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
For its part, the Ukrainian presidency described this information as a “deliberate provocation” by Moscow.
Ukrainian “spoilers” infiltrate Russia
The Russian security services (FSB) and the local authorities of Bryansk announced that operations were underway on Thursday to “eliminate” a group of Ukrainian “saboteurs” infiltrated in this region, located about 400 kilometers southwest of Moscow.
“The FSB and the auxiliary forces of the Russian Defense Ministry are taking measures to destroy armed Ukrainian nationalists who violated the state border in the Klimovsk district of the Bryansk region,” the security services said, quoted by news agencies. russian news.
The regional governor, Alexandre Bogomaz, mentioned on Telegram “a reconnaissance and sabotage group (that) infiltrated the town of Lioubetchané from Ukraine.”
“The Russian armed forces are taking all necessary measures to eliminate this group,” he added.
According to him, “the saboteurs opened fire on a moving vehicle”, after which “a resident was killed and a ten-year-old boy was injured” and was hospitalized.
Attack and bombardment with drones
According to the Russian news agencies Ria Novosti, Tass and Interfax, citing witnesses and sources within the security and emergency services, the Ukrainian group took several people hostage.
Alexandre Bogomaz also reported an attack by Ukrainian drones on the village of Souchany in the same region, which set a house on fire, as well as mortar fire that damaged two houses in the town of Lomakovka, also in the region of Bryansk.
Roman Starovoit, governor of another Russian border region, Kursk, reported a Ukrainian shelling on the town of Tetkino, which left one dead and one wounded. This shelling damaged three houses and caused a power outage in this town, he said.
A “deliberate provocation” according to kyiv
For its part, the Ukrainian presidency described this information as a “deliberate provocation” by Moscow, which, according to it, intends to justify the military offensive that Moscow has been carrying out in Ukraine for more than a year.
“The story about the Ukrainian sabotage group in Russia is a classic deliberate provocation. Russia wants to scare its people to justify” its offensive against Ukraine, Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, said on Twitter.
The Russian border regions with Ukraine have been subject to repeated shelling since the beginning of the conflict, but it is very rare for the Russian authorities to mention a sabotage group.
Russian volunteers involved?
In two videos posted on social media, four men in uniform posing as members of a “Russian volunteers” group within the Ukrainian military claim to be infiltrating the Bryansk region. It is about the Russians who are opposed to the war and especially opposed to Vladimir Putin.
In these viral videos, whose authenticity AFP could not verify, the men deny taking hostages or killing civilians and criticize Moscow.
“Le Corps des volontaires russés est venu dans la región de Bryansk pour montrer aux compatriotes qu’il ya de l’espoir, que le peuple russe libre, les armes à la main, peut combattre le régime”, said l’un des dos men.
Putin wants to ‘crush’ ‘neo-Nazis’ and ‘terrorists’
According to the Kremlin spokesman, Russian President Vladimir Putin has canceled a planned trip to the Russian Caucasus and is receiving “constant reports” about the events.
Vladimir Putin denounced a “terrorist” attack on Thursday. In a televised speech, he denounced an attack by “neo-Nazis” and “terrorists” who “opened fire on civilians.”
“We will crush them,” he said.
In the early afternoon, the security services (FSB) said that the situation was “under control”. According to them, a “large quantity of explosives” was discovered and cleanup operations were underway.
Source: BFM TV
