Russia’s Belgorod region, the target of heavy Ukrainian bombing this week, was attacked again today and the Russian military said its artillery repelled Ukrainian fighters trying to enter that area.
“Border guard units in the Western Military District and the Border Service of the Federal Security Service detected an attempt by a sabotage group of Ukrainian terrorists to cross the river near the town of Novaya Tavoljanka,” the army said in a statement.
“The enemy was hit by artillery,” Moscow said, and ended up “scattered and retreating.”
The fighting near the Ukrainian border was confirmed by Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, the target of Ukrainian bombings in recent days, who wrote on the Telegram platform that “fighting” took place in the village of Novaya Tavoljanka.
Viacheslav Gladkov described the attackers as Russian fighters deployed alongside Ukrainian troops and stated that they had taken prisoners and were willing to exchange detainees.
This new incursion by pro-Ukrainian forces into Russian territory comes after massive airstrikes hit central Ukraine, one that killed a 2-year-old girl Saturday night and injured 22 people in Dnipro, the other that hit an airport on Sunday, according to the Ukrainian authorities.
The Russian army claimed to have carried out attacks on Ukrainian military airfields during the night from Saturday to Sunday, causing it to hit command centers and equipment.
For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused the Russians of “attacking the city” of Dnipro on Saturday night, saying victims were trapped in the rubble of two apartment buildings.
Ukrainian authorities also announced that an airport has been hit by a Russian attack near the central city of Kropyvnytskyi.
Russian airstrikes against Ukraine have intensified in recent weeks, as have Ukrainian raids into Russia.
Kiev has claimed for months that it is preparing for a major offensive against Moscow’s occupying forces, in a bid to regain territories lost since the Russian invasion, which began in February 2022.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory launched on February 24 last year – justified by the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, with the need to “denazify” and demilitarize Ukraine for Russian security – was condemned by the international community at large , which it has responded by sending weapons to Ukraine and imposing political and economic sanctions on Russia.
According to the latest data from the United Nations, the war has so far led to the flight of more than 14.7 million people – 6.5 million internally displaced persons and more than 8.2 million to European countries.
Source: DN
