Armed insurgents who crossed the border from Ukraine to launch attacks in Russia’s Belgorod region have been defeated, Moscow claims.
Villages near the border were evacuated after coming under shellfire in one of the most significant cross-border raids since the start of Russia’s invasion.
Russia says 70 attackers were killed and insists the fighters are Ukrainian.
But Kyiv has denied involvement and two Russian paramilitary groups have said they were behind the incursion.
Monday’s raid led Moscow to declare a counter-terrorism operation, giving the authorities special powers to clamp down on communications and people’s movements.
The measures were only lifted on Tuesday afternoon, and even then, one of the paramilitary groups was claiming it still controlled a “small, but our own piece of the Motherland”.
The claims by the warring sides have not been independently verified, but any assaults on Russian soil make Nato leaders nervous, and the development could prove a mixed blessing for Kyiv.
‘These are Russian patriots’
Russia’s defence ministry said a “unit of the Ukrainian nationalist formation” invaded its territory and was responsible for heavy shelling on the Kozinka checkpoint and other parts of the nearby area.
As well as killing dozens of what it described as “Ukrainian terrorists” in artillery and air strikes, the ministry claimed to have driven the rest of the fighters back to the Ukrainian border.
But Ukrainian officials said the attackers were Russians, from groups known as the Liberty of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC).
“These are Russian patriots who want to change the political regime in the country,” Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar told Ukrainian TV.
The Liberty of Russia Legion said on Twitter on Monday it had “completely liberated” the border town of Kozinka and that its units had reached as far as the town of Grayvoron, further east.
The group said it was continuing to free the Belgorod region and Russian armed forces could not oppose it.
Separately, on Tuesday afternoon the RVC posted a video of its fighters moving towards what looked like a border check-point, saying it still controlled a “small… piece of the homeland”.
Both of the paramilitary groups also told Ukraine’s public broadcaster Suspilne that they were creating “a demilitarised zone on the border with the Russian Federation from which they will not be able to shell Ukraine”.
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‘Raid plays to Russian narrative’
The cross-border incursion may be embarrassing for Moscow, and go some way to offset the bad optics for Ukraine of reportedly losing control of Bakhmut after months of intense and bloody fighting.
It is also likely to be part of Ukraine’s shaping operations ahead of its coming counter-offensive, aiming to draw Russian troops away from the south where Kyiv is expected to attack.
But it is not a development that is likely to welcomed by the West.
The long-range weapons they have provided to Kyiv, although not used in this attack, still come with the proviso they are not to be used to hit targets inside Russia.
Despite official denials from Kyiv, it is hard to believe this raid was launched without assistance from Ukrainian military intelligence.
It plays into the Kremlin narrative that Russia’s own sovereign security is under attack from malign forces backed by the West.
It is a narrative likely to be fuelled by reports that some of those who took part are linked to far right extremism, reinforcing Moscow’s claim that its trying to rid Ukraine of Neo-Nazis.
Thousands displaced
Belgorod’s governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said several people had been injured in the fighting, including two civilians who were being evacuated from their homes.
Mr Gladkov said that people in several villages had been evacuated and warned those who had fled their homes not to return yet, as Russian forces carried out what he described as a “mopping-up” operation.
He added that air defences had shot down drones overnight, damaging buildings.
Temporary shelters have been set up in the Grayvoronsky district for some 9,300 people who have been displaced, according to local authorities.
The BBC has verified that a building used by Russia’s main security agency, the FSB, was among those hit. It is not clear what caused the damage.
Source: BBC