On 30 May 2023, a Russian saboteur and reconnaissance group attempted to cross the state border of Ukraine in the Kharkiv Oblast from Russia’s Belgorod region, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported.
“Today, the enemy failed to infiltrate a subversive reconnaissance group across the state border of Ukraine near the village of Zelene, Kharkiv Oblast. Apart from that, Russian forces carried out an airstrike on the town of Udy (Kharkiv Oblast),” the General Staff stated in its daily report.
Zelene is a small village 40 kilometers northeast of Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv. Russian forces continue to maintain their military presence in the areas bordering Ukraine, especially near the Kharkiv Oblast, according to the General Staff.
On 22 May 2023, the incursion of insurgents from Ukraine into Russia took Russian forces off guard. The troops of Freedom for Russia Legion and Russian Volunteer Corps, the paramilitary groups that comprise Russian citizens fighting on the Ukrainian side, crossed the Russo-Ukrainian border, launched attacks on the Russian forces in the Belgorod region, and returned to Ukraine on 23 May.
The Belgorod region borders Ukraine’s Sumy, Kharkiv, and Luhansk oblasts. The Russian army carries out regular shelling across the border, pounding residential areas in Sumy and Kharkiv border communities and the city of Kharkiv. Russian forces stationed in Belgorod launch missiles against Kharkiv, regularly targeting Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure.
Related:
- Ukraine’s Russian volunteer fighters creating “security strip” in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast – Ukrainian intel
- Ukraine is ready to launch a counteroffensive against Russian troops, Security Council Secretary says – BBC
