Putin says Ukrainians target border region with Russia, Kiev calls ‘provocation’

Putin says Ukrainians target border region with Russia, Kiev calls ‘provocation’

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia was hit by a “terrorist attack” in the region south of Bryansk, bordering Ukraine, and promised to crush what he called a Ukrainian sabotage group that has fired on civilians.

Ukraine accused Russia of staging a false “provocation” but also seemed to imply that some form of operation was actually being carried out by Russian anti-government guerrillas.

Amid reports of sporadic bombing and sabotage, Russia’s border regions have become increasingly unstable since Moscow invaded Ukraine a year ago.

In a televised address, Putin accused the group of opening fire from a car at civilians, including children. Bryansk governor Alexander Bogomaz said the attack killed two people and injured an 11-year-old boy.

“They won’t achieve anything. We will crush them,” Putin said, adding that the group consisted of people who want to steal Russia’s history and language.

Earlier in the day, four members of the Russian National Guard were injured when their car hit a mine in the village of Sushany across the border from Ukraine, said Alexander Khinstein, a senior federal lawmaker.

The four were participating in an operation to secure the region, he wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

The FSB security service initially claimed that, together with the army, it was trying to liquidate “an armed group of Ukrainian nationalists” that had crossed the border.

Subsequently, the service stated that the situation was under control and that a large number of explosive devices had been found during the demining of the site. The FSB did not mention earlier reports from state news agencies that people had been taken hostage.

In two videos circulating online, gunmen calling themselves the “Russian Volunteer Corps” claimed to have crossed the border to fight what they call “Putin’s bloody Kremlin regime.”

Calling themselves “liberators,” the men urged Russians to take up arms and rise up against the authorities. They denied opening fire on civilians.

Reuters could not immediately verify the authenticity of the videos.

Source: Terra

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