The war is now in Russia. Partisans of the Russian Freedom Legion, a self-described anti-Kremlin militia that wants to rid Russia of Vladimir Putin, report crossing the border from Ukraine and bypassing the Kozinka settlement. The units are also said to have been sent to the city of Grayvoron in the Belgorod region of Russia. Another militia, the Russian Volunteer Corps, also claimed to have taken part in the raid.
Counter-terrorism operation
Footage of the raid, reportedly taken from a border checkpoint in Grayvoron, shows casualties. Below, a Russian officer in a pool of blood, alongside Russian passports and other documents. The video also shows armored vehicles appearing to raid the post. According to Russian correspondent Joost Bosman, the Russian army and FSB security service troops also retook the settlements and the governor launched the counter-terrorism operation. “This means that the security services will have additional powers to intercept citizens, arrest them and get them out of their cars.”
The Russian Volunteer Corps has been active in Russia since the beginning of March. In the Bryansk region, the group also briefly occupied a village, but are now backed by the Legion that Bosman has never heard of before. “In recent weeks they have been putting up videos on the internet claiming to be fighting for Russia. It looks elegant, maybe it’s a deepfake.’
Bosman notes that Russian citizens are increasingly concerned on the Russian social media channel Telegram. Where is the Russian army? they ask themselves. They don’t feel safe.’
Counteroffensive
The Guardian reports that according to unconfirmed reports, a drone was used to attack the office of the Russian security service FSB. The Belgorod governor reports eight wounded by Ukrainian artillery fire. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had been briefed and efforts were being made to expel the “saboteurs”, but Russian media paid almost no attention to the event. ‘Russian media report very little, the news spent 15 seconds on it, in the next news it was cut. The authorities don’t want to pay attention to it.”
Bosman does not exclude that it is a diversionary maneuver and that this is a harbinger of the Ukrainian counter-offensive.