Russian troops thwarted an attempt by a “Ukrainian sabotage group of militants” to enter the border region of Belgorod on Thursday, the Russian Defence Ministry has stated.
The ministry said in a statement on Friday that the sabotage group of up to 30 people had landed near the Russian border and proceeded to the Russian village of Kozinka, entering “several houses on its outskirts”.
The Russian military added that the control over Kozinka had been fully restored, claiming “Ukrainian militants” had lost over 50 people as they were forced to retreat.
The ministry also confirmed that there had been several attempts to break through the border regions of Belgorod and Kursk from Tuesday to Thursday this week, adding that all of them had been thwarted.
Belgorod region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Friday morning that about 400 people had been evacuated from the border villages of Gora-Podol, Glotovo and Kozinka, adding that 22 local residents were injured in the hostilities.
The Freedom of Russia Legion, a paramilitary unit of Russian volunteers fighting alongside the Armed Forces of Ukraine, claimed to have crossed the border into Russia’s Belgorod and Kursk regions on Tuesday morning, taking control of several border villages. Hostilities were reported near the towns of Shebekino and Grayvoron in the Belgorod region, as well as near the village of Tyotkino in the Kursk region.
