Ukraine War
News: Russia Invading Itself…
Battle in Belgorod, Russia withdrawing nuclear munitions from Graivoron and Free Russia flag flying over Moscow…
This is a quick and dirty update on fast moving events inside Russia on the afternoon of 23 May 2023.
Allegedly the Free Russia Legion, which fights on the side of Ukraine but is composed of Russians, is attacking southern Belgorod, Russia.
The Russian Volunteer Corps is also involved.
A Russian helicopter has been downed.
The Russian views
According to TASS, the “Special Military Operation” in Ukraine has been Extended into the Belgorod Region of Western Russia in order to “Liquidate Terrorist Elements that have entered the Region from Ukraine” accordingly Rapid Response Forces from the Russian Military are enroute towards the Region. — Telegram Intel News
“Anti-terrorist regime” introduced in Belgorod region — TASS.
The CTO-Gladkov regime has been introduced in the Belgorod region.
The legal regime of the counter-terrorist operation establishes special measures and temporary restrictions. Starting from verification of documents proving their identity with individuals and ending with the suspension of the activities of hazardous industries and organizations that use explosive, radioactive, chemically and biologically hazardous substances. — Telegram Intel News
Ukraine update
Russia is removing nuclear munitions from a storage facility near Graivoron in the Belgorod region, the representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Andriy Yusov, said.
He once again emphasized that Ukraine has nothing to do with the events taking place there — the fight is being waged by local anti-Putin forces. Telegram
Free Russia flag flying over Moscow
Local media report an explosion in the FSB building in Belgorod.
And fighting continues around Bakhmut.
Update:
The situation in the Belgorod region as of 14:00:
📍The Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps said they are continuing their operation to “liberate” the Belgorod region. They did not provide any details, and Russian media are also silent. This may indicate that the groups are still in the region. The RVC published a video with fighters on an armored personnel carrier, and its commander Denis Nikitin posted a story with one of the fighters on Instagram 5 hours ago.
📍In the morning, the governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, reported shelling of a number of settlements and the activity of “enemy” UAVs. He also reported at least 12 wounded civilians and the continuation of the “counterterrorist operation”. According to him, the mopping-up operation continues — residents of the town of Grayvoron and eight surrounding villages have been resettled.
📍Meanwhile, a video from the alleged Grayvoron border crossing point is being posted on social media, with the inscription “Greetings from Bakhmut” on the wall. Its destruction was reported yesterday. Videos were also circulated of a presumably killed Russian border guard, an armored personnel carrier captured by the RVC fighters from the Russians (a collection has already been launched to pay for its repair), and a lost Ukrainian armored personnel carrier MaxxPro.
False flag operation?
The question has to be asked as to whether this is a false flag operation. Is the group manipulated by Moscow to play to Putin’s threat of escalation in case of an ‘existential threat to the Motherland’?
As of 24 May, Russia is claiming that they have defeated the insurgents and killed 70 of them.
It’s that possibility of an existential threat with an attack on Russian territory that is a concern for Western countries.
If genuine, the attack could certainly not have taken place without the connivance of Kyiv and if so, it could weaken support in Western capitals.
Probe over
It looks like this attack has been defeated.
The Russian Volunteer Corps stated that it did not suffer any losses in the battles in Belgorod region and does not know about the columns of destroyed equipment reported by the Russian Defense Ministry. Regarding the photos with the bodies of people in Ukrainian Armed Forces uniforms published by propagandists, the RVC emphasizes that they do not wear uniforms in the pixel.
Today, the Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Russian volunteer units in the Belgorod region were “blocked and defeated.” More than 70 fighters, four armored vehicles and five pickup trucks were allegedly destroyed. The Freedom of Russia Legion, acting in conjunction with the RVC, claimed to have defeated FSB forces and destroyed a motorized rifle company of the Russian army.
Video: RVC
I’m sure that there will be more coming.
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.