Civilian dies during fighting in Belgorod, Russia claims to have killed 70 invaders

The Russian army said on Tuesday it had defeated militants who attacked a Russian border region with armored vehicles the day before, killing more than 70. “Ukrainian nationalists” and taking the remainder back to Ukraine. Meanwhile, the governor of the Belgorod region reported that a civilian “died at the hands of the Ukrainian armed forces”.

In what appears to be one of the biggest incursions into Ukraine since the war broke out 15 months ago, two suspected anti-Kremlin armed groups employing foreign Russians said they were responsible for the attack in Russia’s Belgorod region.

Russia’s Defense Ministry, which has blamed Ukrainian authorities, said its forces surrounded enemy fighter jets and used “Air attacks, artillery fire and active action by border units”.

A second group, the Russian Free Corps, said it had “demilitarized” a Russian motorized rifle company and destroyed armored vehicles.

_{Image shows Russian Freedom Legion troops invading Belgorod / Russian Freedom Legion (Reproduction/Reuters)}

More than 70 Ukrainian fighters were killed and four armored vehicles and five pickup trucks were destroyed, a ministry statement said.

“The remnants of the nationalists were pushed back into Ukrainian territory, where they continued to be hit by gunfire until they were completely eliminated,” added the ministry.

“…Putin’s forces did not stand out with any success in the last day”said in a social media post.

The Ukrainian government said it was monitoring the situation, but “had nothing to do with it”. the government said the same thing in March, when one of the groups Moscow said consisted of Russian far-right extremists controlled by Ukrainian intelligence launched an attack in another border region.

Former President Dmitry Medvedev, now deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, said Kiev’s denials were “lies” and that the aggressors should be eliminated “like mice”.

Featured photo: Russian fuel depot in Belgorod catches fire after attack. Reproduction/AFP