Posted on 03/02/2023 18:29 / Updated on 03/02/2023 18:29
(Source: Mikhail Metzel/Sputnik/AFP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin this Thursday (2/3) condemned a “terrorist” attack carried out by “saboteurs” infiltrated from Ukraine, whose government denied any involvement in the episode and accused them of “provocation”. attributed, which was organized by Moscow.
According to Russian authorities, two civilians were killed and an 11yearold boy injured when “saboteurs” opened fire on a car in the town of Lyubechane in the Briansk province bordering Ukraine.
The commando took hostages, the Russian news agencies Ria Novosti, TASS and Interfax reported, citing witnesses and sources from the security forces. AFP has not been able to verify this information with independent sources.
The Russian army “protects Russia and our people from neoNazis and terrorists […] Those who carried out a new terrorist attack today infiltrated our border area and opened fire on civilians,” he said in a televised speech.
Ukrainian Presidential Security Advisor Mikhailo Podoliak called the comments a “deliberate provocation” by Russia to “intimidate its population to justify the offensive in neighboring areas.”
In Kupyansk, a frontline town about 50 km from the Russian border, authorities, fearing a Russian attack, called for the evacuation of vulnerable residents.
Kyiv also ordered the evacuation of adjacent areas in the northeast after Kharkiv province governor Oleh Synyehubov said Moscow had “bombed” several towns in the region.
Ukrainian troops regained control of several towns in this northeastern region, including Kupiank, in September, but fear they could fall into Russian hands again.
‘Under control’
Russian provinces bordering Ukraine have been the target of multiple bombings since the conflict began, but it’s unusual for authorities to come up with reports of a group of saboteurs. According to provincial governor Alexander Bogomaz, “the saboteurs opened fire on a moving vehicle.”
The Russian Security Service (FSB) and Briansk authorities said they conducted operations to “eliminate” a group of Ukrainian “saboteurs” who had infiltrated the region, some 400 km southwest of Moscow.
In two videos posted on social media, four men in uniform posing as members of a group of “Russian volunteers” from the Ukrainian army claim to have infiltrated Briansk. In the recordings, the authenticity of which AFP was also unable to verify, the men deny taking hostages or killing civilians and criticizing Moscow.
The incident prompted Putin to cancel a trip to the Russian Caucasus. Afterwards, the FSB declared that the situation was “under control” and that the “Ukrainian nationalists” had been expelled to their country. There they are the target of “a massive artillery fire”.
According to the FSB, “a large number of explosives” were found and demining operations were underway.
Russia denounces ‘farce’ at G20
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine were even felt at the G20 summit in New Delhi, where Sergey Lavrov, Russia’s foreign minister, accused Western officials of disrupting the meeting and making it a “farce”.
Lavrov had a brief meeting with his American counterpart Antony Blinken on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting, who urged him to end the conflict in Ukraine. It was the first direct meeting between the two leaders since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
Russian diplomacy spokeswoman Maria Zakharova tried to downplay the significance of the meeting, assuring Blinken initiated it.
India wanted its G20 presidency to focus on issues such as poverty reduction and climate change, but the war in Ukraine proved to be the dominant issue at the summit.
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