A powerful explosion, which was followed by a huge fire, was recorded on Monday morning in the Russian region of Belgorod, in an act that regional authorities blamed on “saboteurs”.
According to the governor of the region, an armed group entered Russian territory and near the district of Graivoron confronted the local army, where there was also an exchange of fire.
But Ukraine’s reaction to this event was also immediate. According to Hromadske newspaper, citing military intelligence sources, two Russian armed opposition groups Freedom for the Russian Legion and Russian Volunteer Corps were responsible for the attack.
The spokesman of the Kremlin, Dmitry Peskov, then declared that President Putin has been informed about the events and work has begun to expel and suppress these saboteurs.
In a statement to the media, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov indicated that the army, border guards, presidential guards were involved in the operation, while 6 people were injured and 3 administrative buildings were damaged.
Local media reports that water and energy supply have been cut off in some villages.
The self-styled group “Freedom for the Russian Legion”, led by the oppositionist Ilya Ponomarev, who has previously stated that he is working from within Russia to overthrow Putin, wrote on social networks that the city of Kozinka has already been liberated.
