Russia has opened criminal proceedings for terrorism against the perpetrators of the attacks in Russia’s Belgorod region, next to the border with Ukraine, attributing it to Ukrainian troops, the Russian Commission of Inquiry announced on Tuesday.
“Measures are being taken to establish the identity of the attackers and all the circumstances of the incident,” the body responsible for the main investigations in Russia said in a statement quoted by the French agency AFP.
Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Tuesday that the anti-terrorist operation started in the region on Monday is continuing today, involving the armed and security forces.
“The law enforcement is doing everything necessary,” Gladkok told the Telegram social network.
Gladkov explained that the operation took place in the countryside around the town of Graivoron, where the alleged attack took place on Monday, reportedly leaving one dead and a dozen injured.
Russia blamed Ukrainian forces for the attack, but Kiev denied any involvement, saying the attack was carried out by Russian guerrillas against President Vladimir Putin’s regime.
Gladkov said on Monday that “a large part of the population has left the affected area”.
After the attack, the Belgorod region was placed under the “legal regime of an anti-terrorist operation zone”.
According to Gladkov, the decision was taken by the security services of the Russian Federation (FSB).
The measure provides for the possibility to evacuate the affected areas, reinforced control of telecommunications, facilitated interventions by anti-terrorist forces and strengthened controls on identity and vehicles.
In addition to terrorism, the investigation is also based on articles in the Penal Code on attacks against law enforcement officers’ lives, attempted murder, deliberate destruction or damage to property and illegal proliferation of weapons and explosives, the official TASS news agency said. .
The investigative committee said the attack was carried out by Ukrainian armed formations crossing the border into Belgorod, near the city of Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine.
Britain’s Ministry of Defence, which has released daily assessments of the war since the Russian invasion on February 24, 2022, said today that “the identities of the guerrillas have not been confirmed, but Russian anti-regime groups have claimed responsibility”.
“Russia faces an increasingly serious multi-domain security threat in border regions, with fighter jet losses, improvised explosive device attacks on railway lines and now direct guerrilla action”according to British defense analysts.
“Russia will almost certainly use these incidents to support the official narrative that it is a victim of war,” they added.
Russia invaded Ukraine to “demilitarize and denazify” the neighboring country, plunging Europe into what is believed to be the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
The number of casualties and civilians in 15 months of fighting is unknown, but several sources, including the UN, have admitted it will be high.
Source: DN
