Russian troops smash Ukrainian terrorists in Belgorod Region

©Russian Defense Ministry

As part of a counterterror operation, the Russian military wiped out the Ukrainian nationalist formations that infiltrated the Grayvoronsky District in the Belgorod Region on Monday, Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov said on Tuesday.

Some 70 Ukrainian terrorists have been eliminated. According to the latest data, no civilians have been killed as a result of the sabotage group’s actions and 12 people were injured. An elderly woman died during evacuation.

TASS has put together the latest information about the situation in the Belgorod Region.

Elimination of Ukrainian saboteurs

• The Russian military blocked and wiped out Ukrainian nationalist formations in the Belgorod Region during a counterterror operation. The terrorists infiltrated Russian territory on May 22 after shelling the Kozinka border checkpoint and a number of other civilian facilities, the Russian Defense Ministry specified.



• The nationalist formations were blocked and eliminated by air strikes, artillery fire and active actions from the state border security units of the Western Military District. Over 70 Ukrainian terrorists have been wiped out. The Russian military pushed the remnants of the sabotage group back to Ukraine where they continued to fire on them until they were completely eliminated.



• Russian troops also destroyed four armored combat vehicles and five pickup trucks.

Situation in region

• Over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian troops shelled about 20 communities in the Belgorod Region, regional Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said. They used a multiple-launch rocket system and dropped explosive devices on residential buildings and people using drones.



• Some 29 residential buildings and three vehicles have been damaged. Power outages have been registered in 14 populated localities. It will be possible to begin restoring service as soon as the situation allows, the governor clarified.



• Ukraine has launched an unprecedented information attack on the region’s inhabitants, spreading rumors that tanks are entering the region and that a nuclear catastrophe looms. Ukraine’s goal is to intimidate people and spread panic in the region, the governor said, urging that only official information be trusted.

Evacuation of residents

• The inhabitants of nine communities have been evacuated due to the infiltration by Ukrainian saboteurs. They are Grayvoron, Novostroyevka, Gorkovsky, Bezymeno, Mokraya Orlovka, Glotovo, Gora Podol, Zamostye and Spodaryusheno.



• The regional governor does not recommend the residents of the Grayvoronsky District return home. According to him, the authorities will let people know when it is safe to do so.



• Residents who were evacuated earlier are staying at temporary accommodation centers in Stary Oskol and the Yakovlevsky and Ivnyansky districts.

Number of casualties

• According to Gladkov, 12 people have been wounded in bombardments by Ukrainian troops. On Monday, he reported that eight people had been injured as a result of Ukrainian saboteurs infiltrating the Grayvoronsky District.



• No civilians have been killed as a result of the actions of the Ukrainian saboteurs.



• Two wounded civilians who had been in the populated localities infiltrated by the enemy where Russian forces had been unable to reach them immediately, were hospitalized.



• A woman born in 1941 died while being evacuated. She was on a bus with her son and daughter-in-law. The cause of her death is being established.

Reaction by authorities

• Russia’s Investigative Committee opened a criminal case on charges of terrorism, attempts on the lives of members of law enforcement, attempted murder, premeditated property damage and illegal arms and explosives trafficking.



• Investigators are establishing the attackers’ identities.



• The incursion by Ukrainian saboteurs caused deep concern in the Kremlin, Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. There are no plans to hold a special session of the Russian Security Council over these events. A regular meeting will be held later this week.

Ukraine’s actions

• The authorities of the Sumy Region in Ukraine announced the evacuation of residents from a number of localities in the Akhtyrsky District close to the Belgorod Region’s border.