According to a recent interview with General-Major Vadym Skibitskyi, a representative of Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, to Ukrainska Pravda, The Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) and the Freedom of Russia Legion have disappeared from the media landscape because they are “preparing for extensive actions” that will be a “surprise for Russia.”
General Skibitskyi was quoted saying, “They (RVC and the Freedom of Russia Legeon) are active. They are preparing for active actions. When they entered (in May-June across the border), Russia was not ready, they did not understand at all what was happening at that time.”
Skibitskyi mentioned that Russia has since significantly increased its presence near the border and enhanced its reconnaissance and other systems that deter such group activities.
“Accordingly, planning is difficult now, but actions are being planned. They are being carried out using not only manpower but also other assets and resources to strike the most critical targets on the territory of the Russian Federation,” Skibitskyi said.
On 22 May, the RVC and the Freedom of Russia Legion, consisting of Russians fighting for Ukraine, declared they had “liberated” several populated areas of the Belgorod Oblast of Russia from Putin’s regime.
However, a day later, on 23 May, Russian authorities announced the defeat of the RVC and Legion’s fighters, labeling them “saboteurs” and announcing the completion of a “counter-terrorist” operation in the Belgorod Oblast.
Contradicting this, the RVC stated on 23 May that their equipment remained undamaged and accused the Russian Ministry of Defense of spreading lies.
On the night of 1 June, fighting began near the Ukrainian-Russian border, close to Russia’s populated area of Shebekino, in what the insurgents called the “second stage” of their operation. Russian Telegram channels wrote that the Shebekino road checkpoint was attacked with tanks, and during the shelling, one of the shells hit the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
On 4 June, the anti-Putin insurgents announced that they had taken Russian prisoners and proposed to exchange them with the Belgorod authorities, which declined the opportunity. Following this, the insurgents said they will hand over the prisoners to the Ukrainian side for future exchanges.
Read also:
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- Frontline report: Pro-Ukrainian Russian insurgents conduct more operations in Russia’s Belgorod region
- Belgorod oblast raid over, struggle continues, Russian fighters say at press briefing
