A Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group of up to ten people attempted to infiltrate Ukrainian territory in the area of the village of Pylna, Kharkiv Oblast, according to Lieutenant Colonel Nazar Voloshyn, a spokesman for the Khortytsia operational-strategic military group.
“The enemy [Russian – ed.] sabotage group was detected in time, and fire was opened to hit them. After suffering losses, the Russians returned to the adjacent territory of the Russian Federation,” Voloshyn told the Interfax-Ukraine news agency.
The spokesman said Russia has intensified the use of sabotage groups in the Kharkiv direction.
“Yesterday, today – sabotage groups tried to infiltrate the territory of Ukraine from the territory of the Russian Federation. However, their attempts to gather intelligence were unsuccessful,” Voloshyn said.
Ukraine’s military officials reported that Russian forces maintain a military presence in border areas along the Siversk and Slobozhanske directions. They also conduct sabotage activities to prevent the transfer of Ukrainian forces to threatening directions and increase the density of mine-explosive barriers along the state border.
Russian subversive reconnaissance groups continue their attempts to breach the border in border areas and regions of Ukraine. This most often concerns the Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv oblasts.
According to the State Border Guard Service, Russian Special Forces are most actively assaulting the borders of the Sumy Oblast.
Russian subversive reconnaissance groups shot two people on 27 January in the Sumy Oblast.
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