Drones strike in Russia’s Ukrainian border region
Moscow, Russia --- Drones struck Russia’s border region of Belgorod where security operations pressed into a second day after a cross-border raid blamed on fighters from Ukraine, authorities said Tuesday.
The region, which borders Ukraine, has been repeatedly shelled in attacks that have killed dozens of people since Moscow launched its offensive last year.
Several drones struck houses and a government building overnight but did not result in casualties or deaths, Vyacheslav Gladkov, Belgorod governor, wrote on Telegram.
On Monday, Russia said its troops were battling a “sabotage” group that entered from Ukraine and introduced an “antiterror regime” in Belgorod, a first since the start of Moscow’s campaign in Ukraine in February 2022.
Gladkov said on Tuesday the “defense ministry and law enforcement are continuing to clear the area.”
He previously said eight people had been injured, adding that authorities were helping people leave the scene of the fighting.
He added on Tuesday that it was too soon for residents who fled to return to their homes and said that authorities would give the all-clear when it was safe.
Members of the anti-Kremlin Freedom of Russia Legion have claimed responsibility for the incursion into Belgorod, but Kyiv has denied any involvement.
In a video released by a Telegram channel claiming to represent the group, a camouflaged spokesman, surrounded by
armed men in fatigues, said: “Russia will be free!” -- a slogan frequently used by Russian opposition activists.
‘Guerrilla groups’
“We want our children to grow up in peace and be free,” the spokesman added, with the channel claiming that two settlements including Graivoron had been attacked.