Another border breach in Russia? What's happening in Kursk and Belgorod regions
Photo: After massive shelling of Sudzha in the Kursk region, Russians reported alleged border breach (Russian media)
After the massive shelling of Sudzha in the Kursk region, Russians complained about the Ukrainian Armed Forces attempting to break through. Unlike previous raids organized by Russian volunteers, the Russian authorities were the first to report the news. They say there are battles on several fronts and the situation is “uneasy” in the Belgorod region.
RBC-Ukraine has gathered more information on what is happening in the Kursk and Belgorod regions of Russia.
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Backstory
Before Russian reports of a border breach, local authorities said early in the morning that the border town of Sudzha, located near Ukraine's Sumy region, had been heavily shelled. The acting governor of the Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, writes about five wounded and several residential buildings that were “heavily damaged.” Public transport in Kursk has been suspended due to the missile threat.
The Russian Ministry of Defense reported the downing of 13 drones over the territory of the Kursk region and 9 over the Belgorod region.
But local Telegram channels are not quiet. Eyewitnesses report about the numerous destructions in Sudzha and share the footage on social media.
Photo: Aftermath of the night shelling of Sudzha, Kursk region (Russian media)
Photo: Aftermath of the night shelling of Sudzha, Kursk region (Russian media)
Photo: Aftermath of the night shelling of Sudzha, Kursk region (Russian media)
Photo: Aftermath of the night shelling of Sudzha, Kursk region (Russian media)
Possible border breach in the Kursk and Belgorod regions
In the morning after a noisy night, Russian channels began to write about the alleged breakthrough of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the border with Russia in the Kursk region. One of the propaganda sources even named the direction of the attacks. They say that it is Nikolaevo-Darino-Darino and the checkpoint Sudzha - Gogolevka. Russian military reporters claim that the fighting is taking place “in several sections of the state border.”
Photo: Sudzha is located near the border (google maps)
The Russian Telegram channel Mash has already fantasized about a Ukrainian subversive group that "consisting of about 100 people on heavy equipment at about 9 a.m. tried to enter the territory of Russia” in the Sudzha district. There was also an attempt to enter the Korenevsky district. The propagandists say that “no breakthrough achieved.”
Local authorities also reacted. The acting governor of the Kursk region says that Russian border guards are preventing Ukrainian troops from making a breakthrough.
“Today, information is coming from the Sudzhansky and Korenovsky districts about attempts by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to break through into the territory of the Kursk region. Soldiers of the Border Guard Service of the Russian Federal Security Service and the Russian Armed Forces prevented the breakthrough of the border,” Smirnov wrote.
He also warned the Russians that “many different fakes will allegedly appear shortly,” and urged them “not to be deceived by the actions of provocateurs.”
Russian military propagandists say that “the Armed Forces of Ukraine are heading towards Goncharovka in the Sudzhansky district” with heavy equipment. Later, reports online appeared about attempts to break through the border in the Belgorod region. But there are no details yet.
What Ukraine says
Ukraine has not confirmed that the fighting is taking place in the Kursk region. RBC-Ukraine asked representatives of the Ukrainian Defense Forces for information, but they have not yet commented on the situation.
Updated. Russia does not control the border, according to Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation.
According to the head of the center, Andriy Kovalenko, Russian war reporters are lying about the control of the situation in the Kursk region.
“Russia does not control the border,” he wrote on his Telegram channel.
Border battles break out from time to time in the Belgorod and Kursk regions of Russia. They usually involve volunteer units composed of Russians who fight on the side of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
For example, on March 12 this year, the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps, and the Siberian (Sibir) Battalion broke through the Russian border. They entered the border areas of the Kursk and Belgorod regions, forming a gray zone. The fighting continued for some time. The rebels promised that such operations would continue.
Sources: Telegram channel Mash, Shot, Astra, statements of the acting governor of Kursk region Alexei Smirnov, and other data from open sources.
