Russia says it prevented Ukraine from invading the country

A Russia claims to have thwarted a Ukrainian invasion attempt in the border region of Belgorod, where heavy bombing has driven its residents to flee. “At around 03:00, Ukrainian units formed by up to two companies of motorized infantry, reinforced with tanks, tried to invade” the territory, warned, in a note, the Russian Ministry of Defense, this Thursday, 1, adding that “up to 70 ” armed men had “participated in the attack”. The action was preceded by the “bombing of civilian installations”, after “three attacks by Ukrainian terrorist groups were repelled” by the Russian military, supported by aviation, which carried out 11 bombings, and by artillery, which carried out 79, continued. “In total, more than 50 Ukrainian terrorists, four armored fighting vehicles, a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher and a pickup truck were eliminated,” the Russian Ministry of Defense detailed. A group called the “Russian Volunteer Corps”, made up of pro-Russian fightersKiev and who had claimed a role in last week’s raid on Belgorod, said on Thursday that his men had fought in Russian territory near Shebekino, a district in that same region.

Ukrainian authorities announced hours earlier that Kiev had been bombed again and that three people had died. The Ukrainian capital was the target of several nighttime bombings in May, in addition to an unusual daytime attack last Monday, which forced residents to take refuge in shelters. However, bombings and incursions have also increased in recent weeks in Russia, including an attack on Moscow, the Russian capital. For months, Kiev has been saying that it is finalizing a major counter-offensive to recover the territories occupied by Moscow since the start of the invasion in February 2022. thousand inhabitants, where 12 people were injured. In the homonymous city of Belgorod, two people were injured on Thursday after a drone crashed, the governor said. “An unknown artifact exploded in Belgorod. According to the first information, a drone crashed on top of a sidewalk. There are two injured,” he reported via Telegram, accompanying his message with a photograph of the supposed remains of the equipment.

Faced with the increase in incursions and attacks in the border region, the authorities announced, on Wednesday, the beginning of the evacuation of residents from the area. Gladkov reported on Thursday that people from Shebekino were already arriving, including minors. “The biggest municipal temporary reception center progressively fills up, so everyone arriving from Shebekino is sent in an organized way to other empty centers,” said Gladkov. Russia denounced the lack of convictions after the Ukrainian bombings in Belgorod. “The international community has every opportunity to see images, to read articles describing the bombings against residential buildings,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “And there is still not a single word criticizing or condemning the Kiev regime for this,” he accused. More than a year after the start of the invasion, Russia began to suffer attacks on its territory. On Tuesday, an unprecedented drone raid on Moscow was recorded, which provoked a huge shock among the residents of the capital.

*With information from AFP