In Russia’s Belgorod region, Freedom of Russia Legion and Russian Volunteer Corps conducted another operation to draw Russian attention and resources to the northern front. Both detachments fully consist of Russian citizens who are against the current Russian government and have reportedly sought and were granted temporary shelter in Ukraine because their current military objectives aligned with Ukrainian ones.
The first target of the insurgent forces became a Russian Control Point on the border. Prior to the attack, the insurgents conducted several waves of drone and artillery strikes to undermine Russian defense. Geolocated footage shows how one drone targeted a group of people who were controlling the point. Later it turned out that the eliminated personnel belonged to the Russian Federal Security Service, which is not surprising: due to the lack of regular forces in the region, Russians deployed to the border all types of Rapid Deployment Forces.
After conducting extensive artillery preparation on the first and second lines of defense, the insurgents launched a ground assault under continuous cover from artillery. Russian sources reported that several small squads reinforced with one tank tried to attack the Control Point, which was protected by 20 border guards and 20 conscripts. This indicates that the Federal Security Forces decided to retreat after at least one of their personnel was killed in a drone attack.
Simultaneously, the insurgents opened a second line of attack toward Tavolzhanka. Russian sources reported that 1 motorized rifle company assaulted the outskirts of the settlement. The footage confirms that there was a second vector of attack because there is only one place in this region where a highway goes through a forest. Additional footage released by the Freedom of Russia Legion also confirms that there were active engagements between the insurgent and Russian forces.
The Russian Ministry of Defense released a statement, where they claimed that this is where the incursions ended. Russian forces reportedly unleashed their aviation and artillery, conducted 11 airstrikes, 77 artillery strikes, and 2 thermobaric strikes, and destroyed the enemy on the approaches to the settlements. However, other combat footage shows that the insurgents managed to breach the first line of defense.
Frontline report: Russia relocates forces to Belgorod after two days of insurgent fighting
The drone footage shows that Russian forces near Tavolzhanka were destroyed by artillery fire. After that, several pickups moved north along the western part of Tavolzhanka, while simultaneously, there was a strike on the critical energy infrastructure in the eastern part of the settlement. When it comes to the Control Point, the drone footage showed that insurgents destroyed plenty of Russian equipment 2 km north of the Control Point, namely, 1 mortar system Tyulpan, 1 truck with ammunition, and 1 armored fighting vehicle.
Ukrainian sources reported that Russians retreated to Shebekino, where they waited for reinforcements. Local residents also noticed several drones operating above the town. One of the insurgent detachments, namely, the Russian Volunteer Corps, reported that they saw how police and other rapid-deployment forces went hiding in the only buildings they had access to, in particular, the police station, local administration building, and some warehouses that were already used for military purposes.
Later, the insurgents released footage showing the aftermath of a strike on the police station in the northern part of the town, the building of the regional administration in the central part of the town, and also facilities belonging to the factory Monocrystal in the southeastern part of the town. Some sources reported that the artillery hit a fuel storage facility, which caused a huge fire.
After successfully folding Russians forces into distinct areas, and after hitting these areas of forces concentrations with artillery fire and emptying the reserves for the protection of the border, the insurgent forces reportedly called their task completed and timely withdrew, avoiding the engagement with the reinforcements that were heading towards the city.
In our daily frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what’s happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
