2023 Belgorod Oblast incursions

Common card · No. 372264

On 22 May 2023, armed groups from Ukraine carried out a cross-border raid into Belgorod Oblast, Russia. Two Russian rebel groups allied with and based in Ukraine—the Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL) and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC)—claimed to have taken control of several border settlements, and clashed with Russian government forces. The Polish Volunteer Corps participated in the raid. Russian authorities said the attacks were conducted by a Ukrainian "sabotage group", and imposed counter-terrorism measures in the region. It was the largest cross-border attack during the war since the initial beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. On 1 June, another incursion began near the town of Shebekino, with the RVC announcing that the promised "second phase" of the fighting had begun. This time, the Belarusian volunteer Terror Battalion participated in the raid. A spokesman for the Freedom of Russia Legion said their goals were to draw Russian troops away from other...

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