By Yoonhyung Cho = The “Freedom of Russia Legion” has claimed to have stormed the mainland city of Belgorod in opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s autocratic regime.
According to Reuters, the clashes took place on April 22 (local time) in Belgorod, a western Russian city bordering Ukraine.
Russia said Ukrainian troops had crossed into its territory and carried out a military operation, which Ukraine denied.
In response, Russia’s internal dissident group, the Russian Freedom Legion, claimed responsibility for the operation in a video statement, saying, “We are Russians like you. We want our children to grow up in peace. It’s time to end the Kremlin’s dictatorship,” the group declared.
The Russian Freedom Legion also announced the vanguard’s entry into Greivoron스포츠토토, saying, “We will advance. Russia will be liberated.”
On the same day, Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence service (GUR), said in a local interview that “the attack forced Russian officials to hastily evacuate the nuclear weapons storage facility near Graiboron in Belgorod.” According to his comments, Belgorod housed a portion of Russia’s nuclear warheads.
“The ‘Russian Freedom Corps’, composed of Russians, today launched an operation to liberate the Belgorod region from the so-called Putin regime,” Yusov said, explaining that the operation was aimed at “pushing the enemy back and securing a certain zone of safety for the citizens of Ukraine.”
In response, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov declared in a telegram, “To ensure the safety of Belgorod residents, we are launching a counter-terrorist operation in the region from today.” He added that security forces would be given special powers and various restrictive measures would be implemented, including increased security, identity checks, and interception of communications.
Indeed, footage released on Twitter by a Ukrainian military blogger showed air raid warnings echoing through the streets of Belgorod, as well as tanks and helicopters moving in.
“We have nothing to do with the incident,” said Mikhail Podolyak, an advisor to the Ukrainian president, but added: “Russia is losing control of the entire region and the situation. This could be an opportunity for the Russian liberation movement to contribute to the correct end of the war and significantly accelerate the start of transformative events by the Russian political elite.”
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Putin had been briefed on the incident. “He fully understands that this was done to minimize the political impact of the fall of Bakhmut and to distract attention from Bakhmut,” he said.