Counter-terrorist operation regime in Belgorod Oblast suddenly cancelled

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, has announced that the counter-terrorist operation regime in the oblast has been cancelled.

Source: Vyacheslav Gladkov on Telegram

Quote from Gladkov: "A decision has been approved to cancel the counter-terrorist operation legal regime on the territory of Belgorod Oblast."

Details: Gladkov also shared a link to the document confirming the cancellation.

However, the governor did not say when residents who fled Belgorod Oblast might be able to return to their homes, and did not comment on the current situation in the border-adjacent areas of the oblast.

Background:

• On 22 May, Russian Volunteer Corps and Freedom of Russia Legion announced that they had crossed the border and were "liberating" the settlements of Belgorod Oblast from the current Russian regime. They said they were starting with the villages of Kozinka and Gora-Podol, but were seeking to "liberate" all of Russia.
• Belgorod Oblast Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov has claimed that a "reconnaissance and sabotage group from the Ukrainian Armed Forces" had entered the Grayvoron district.
• Russian Presidential Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov, has said that Vladimir Putin was informed of the breach of the Russian border in Belgorod Oblast. Peskov said that the work was underway to stamp out "Ukrainian saboteurs" from the territory of Russia and dispose of them.
• Andrii Yusov, spokesman for Ukraine's Defence Intelligence, has described the events taking place in Russia's Belgorod Oblast on 22 May as the creation of a "security zone" to protect Ukrainian citizens. Yusov stressed that the operation was conducted exclusively by Russian citizens.
• Mykhailo Podoliak, advisor to the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, has stressed that Ukraine was not directly involved in the events in Russia's Belgorod Oblast.
• Gladkov has reported that the majority of residents of the Grayvoron district had left their settlements.
• Peskov has said that the penetration of an alleged Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group into the territory of Belgorod Oblast of the Russian Federation causes deep concern.

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