While Kiev ensures that its forces have made some progress on Bakhmut’s flanks and that they still maintain control over a small part of the city, Russian volunteers equipped with armored vehicles invaded Russian territory in the Belgorod region, with the announced goal of “liberating the territory” from the Kremlin and creating a security strip for Ukrainian territory in the region north of Kharkiv.
The governor of the Belgorod region accused a group of Ukrainian saboteurs on Monday morning of entering Russian territory and that the Russian army, border services and intelligence services “took the necessary measures to eliminate the enemy”. Hours later, Vyacheslav Gladkov announced that the region had been placed in a state of anti-terrorism, which includes movement restrictions and the suspension of hazardous materials activities. But both the Ukrainian authorities and the videos made available by the protagonists themselves point to an action by two groups of Russian militants opposed to Vladimir Putin’s regime: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Legion of Freedom for Russia.
Details are still scarce, but all indications are that the gunmen have forcibly entered the Kozinka border post, northwest of the city of Kharkiv, the second largest in Ukraine. Using armored vehicles – which may have been captured at the border – they claim to have taken control of the villages of Kozinka and Gora-Podol and report fighting in Grayvoron. According to the governor of the region, eight people were injured, three of them at the border post.
Already overnight, the Legion Freedom for Russia published a video in which one of the militants, out of six in uniform and armed, explained what they came for. “We want our children to grow up in peace and freedom, so that they can travel, study and be happy in a free country,” he says. “This is not happening in Putin’s current Russia, rotten with corruption, lies, censorship, curtailment of freedoms and repression (…) in a dictatorial country where children are separated from their parents because of calls for peace and where young people have a life sentences,” he continued, and that the “ultimate goal” is Red Square. “Russia will be free,” he cried.
The Russian authorities took the threat seriously. Governor Gladkov said they were evacuating people from the area and while he said he was confident the military would “complete the task quickly”, he announced the activation of the anti-terrorist state – a situation that prevailed in Chechnya during the civil war.
Ukraine has denied any involvement in the case, hours after Dnipro was bombed with 16 missiles and 20 drones. Kiev has also rejected Russia’s claim that it fully controls Bakhmut, saying it is continuing the struggle in the north and south. On the Russian side, the leader of the Wagner group warned that his mercenaries would leave the rubble of the city in the coming days, until June 1. Yevgeny Prigozhin took the opportunity to again criticize the Russian military leaders.
MNE refuses to send F-16
In Brussels, the Portuguese foreign minister said that the country is available to train Ukrainian pilots within the framework of the international coalition being established to allow Kiev to deploy F-16 fighter jets. “We have very good pilots and trainers, and they are available to work with colleagues from other countries who also have F-16s to train Ukrainian pilots,” João Gomes Cravinho said after leaving a meeting of EU diplomats .
However, the minister closed the door to the possibility of sending aircraft for the time being, saying that “Portugal does not have an unlimited number of aircraft”. Or rather: “We need it to fulfill our national obligations and also in NATO, so that question is not an issue for the time being.”
Still, he clarified that such a decision will only be made after analysis with Prime Minister António Costa and Defense Minister Helena Carreiras, and in coordination with NATO allies. “The expectation is that they are not our fighters.” On the other hand, Gomes Cravinho – who received his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba last week – said he was open to “listening to requests from the Ukrainian side” about aircraft maintenance parts.
Dead minister was a war critic
The Russian Deputy Minister of Science and Higher Education, who died on Saturday while returning to his country, was critical of the war and the path the country was taking. Pyotr Kucherenko, 46 years old, felt unwell during the flight on which he followed the Russian delegation from Cuba. The plane made an emergency landing at an airport in southern Russia, but doctors were unable to save it.
Upon learning what had happened, friend and journalist Roman Super said they spoke days before he left Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. Kucherenko reportedly said it was impossible to do the same because his passport would be confiscated. And there is no world that is happy to see a Russian deputy minister after this fascist invasion.
In February, military worker Marina Yankina fell 16 floors in St. Petersburg after criticizing losses in Ukraine.
Source: DN
