Ukraine's volunteer soldiers from Russia break through to Russia's border oblasts, battles reported – video

Volunteer soldiers from the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Siberian Battalion fighting for Ukraine have reported that they had entered the Russian border area and posted a message about it. A video showing the purported presence of military personnel on Russian territory and gunfire was posted on various Telegram channels.

Source: Telegram channels of the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Siberian Battalion; Astra and Krymskii Veter (Crimean Wind) Telegram channels; Andrii Yusov, spokesperson for Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (DIU), in a comment to Ukrainska Pravda

Details: These units reported that shots had been fired, and the Siberian Battalion posted a video showing the supposed entry of fighters into Russia.

It is claimed that the volunteer soldiers have taken control of the village of Lozova Rudka in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, and a small arms battle is currently underway in Tyotkino in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.

"Well, we are finally home. As promised, we are bringing freedom and justice to our Russian land," the Siberian Battalion said in a statement on its Telegram channel.

"We have said before that it will not be possible to overthrow the criminal dictatorial regime in Russia peacefully. It can only be removed with arms in hand. Last night we started to fulfil our promise. Fierce fighting continues on the territory of the Russian Federation," they added.

Легіон "Свобода Росії", "РДК" та "Сибірський батальйон" заявили, що зайшли на прикордонні території Росії, повідомляють про бій. pic.twitter.com/KCcxnjcSa1

— Українська правда ✌️ (@ukrpravda_news) March 12, 2024

Later, the Freedom of Russia Legion posted a video allegedly depicting the destruction of Russian armoured vehicles in the village of Tyotkino in Kursk Oblast. "No one is going anywhere. There is nothing left. They will wait for liberation," says the Legion's Telegram channel.

Updated. Kursk Oblast Governor Roman Starovoit claimed that no one had breached the territory of the oblast. He said there was an attempt by what he calls a "sabotage reconnaissance group", and there was a small arms battle. "There was no breakthrough," he insisted.

"The village of Tyotkino in the Glushkovsky district is being attacked by Ukraine now," the Russian governor noted.

In a comment to the Ukrainska Pravda, DIU spokesperson Yusov noted that the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Siberian Battalion are units consisting of citizens of the Russian Federation.

"They are acting completely autonomously and independently on the territory of the Russian Federation and are fulfilling their socio-political programme tasks there. After all, this is not the first time these units and organisations have acted in the so-called Russian Federation. At the moment, we are presumably talking about a joint operation by the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Siberian Battalion on Russian Federation territory," he stressed.

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