The fighters, who described themselves as “right-wing conservatives and traditionalists”, contradicted the Kremlin’s version that incursions into the Belgorod region had been contained and the fighters “crushed”.
Two groups fighting on the Ukrainian side and claiming responsibility for an incursion in a Russian border region over the past two days boasted on Wednesday of the “success” of their operation, which they said highlighted the weakness of Russia’s defences.
The founder of one such group, Denis Kapustin of the Russian Volunteer Corps, speaking to reporters in northern Ukraine near the Russian border, said that entering Russia and returning to Ukraine “can be counted as a success.”
Groups of “Saboteurs”
The attack, referred to by pro-Ukrainian militants, occurred in the Belgorod region on Monday, when Moscow reported the incursion of groups of “saboteurs” from Ukraine, the worst such incident in history. It is accompanied by Ukrainian bombardments of Russian villages. One died and 13 were wounded.
“The operation is in progress. It consists of several phases,” assured Denis Kapoustine, a well-known figure in the hooligan and far-right milieu in Russia, who settled in Ukraine before the war, where he organized MMA fights and owned a clothing brand.
In his opinion, this type of incursion forces the Russian army to move “a large number” of forces, thus clearing other parts of the border and the front.
The spokesman for the other group that claimed responsibility for the raid, “Caesar” of the Russian Freedom Legion, called the operation “incredible” while posing in front of an armored vehicle, which he assured was moving around acted as a “trophy” of the Russian Armed Forces.
Hailing from St. Petersburg, Russia, “Caesar” has been identified by Russian investigative media as a member of Russia’s far-right imperialist and nationalist fog.
The militants, who numbered about 30 before the press, said they spent nearly 24 hours on Russian territory before returning to Ukraine in the early hours of Wednesday.
Former neo-Nazis
Moscow claimed on Tuesday that it repelled the incursion with the help of artillery and aviation and eliminated “more than 70 Ukrainian terrorists”.
For their part, the fighters, who describe themselves as “right-wing conservatives and traditionalists”, assured that only two were injured. Some have openly posed as neo-Nazis in the past.
According to Denis Kapustin, Moscow’s reaction to this invasion showed that “the military and political leadership in Russia is absolutely not ready to deal with such things”.
“I want to prove to them that we can fight tyrants and that Putin’s power is not unlimited,” he added, claiming to be fighting “injustice” and “torture.”
While Ukraine denied any responsibility for the raid, Denis Kapustin said Kiev “encouraged” them without providing weapons or equipment.
Footage released by the Russian authorities showed vehicles used by militants during the raid and subsequently captured, which the American newspaper New York Times identified as American MRAPs.
If Ukraine had received more than 500 from Washington, “Caesar” assured that he had bought them “in war supplies.”
Russia on Wednesday promised an “extremely determined” response in case of fresh armed raids, two days after the worst attack by Ukrainian groups on Russian territory since the conflict with Ukraine began.