According to the Russian authorities, two civilians were killed and an 11-year-old boy was injured by “saboteurs” who opened fire on a car in the town of Lyubechane, in the Briansk region, bordering Ukraine.
The command would have taken hostages, according to Russian press agencies Ria Novosti, TASS and interface, who cited witnesses and sources from the security and rescue services.
AFP could not independently verify this information.
The Russian army “protects Russia and our people against neo-Nazis and terrorists (…). Those who committed a new terrorist attack today infiltrated our border territory and opened fire on civilians,” Putin said in a speech broadcast by television.
The Ukrainian presidency called the accusations a “deliberate provocation” by Russia. with the aim of “scaring its population to justify” its offensive against Ukraine.
In Kupiansk, a frontline town some 50 km from the Russian border, authorities called for the evacuation of vulnerable residents fearing a Russian attack.
kyiv also ordered the evacuation of adjacent territories in the northeast, after Kharkov region governor Oleg Synegubov said Moscow “bombed” several towns in the area.
Ukrainian troops regained control of several towns in this northeastern region, including Kupiank, in September, but fear they could fall back into Russian hands.
Attacks in border regions
Russia’s border regions with Ukraine have suffered several shelling attacks since the start of the conflict more than a year ago, but it is unusual for authorities to report the incursion of a “sabotage” group.
According to Russian regional governor Alexander Bogomaz, “the saboteurs opened fire on a moving vehicle.”
The Russian security services (FSB) and the Bryansk authorities reported that they carried out operations to “eliminate” a group of Ukrainian “saboteurs” infiltrated in this region.located about 400 km southwest of Moscow.
In two videos posted on social media, four men in uniform claiming to be members of a group of “Russian volunteers” in the Ukrainian military claim to have infiltrated Briansk.
In the videos, whose authenticity AFP could not verify, the men deny taking hostages or killing civiliansand criticize Moscow.
The incident led Putin to cancel a trip to the Russian Caucasus.
The FSB later claimed that the situation was “under control” and that “Ukrainian nationalists” had been driven back to their country. There they were targeted by “a massive artillery barrage”.
According to the FSB, “a large number of explosives” were found and demining operations were underway.
Tension between Russia and Ukraine in the G20
The tensions between Russia and Ukraine were felt up to the G20 summit in New Delhi, where lavrov he blamed Western representatives for disrupting the meeting and turning it into a “farce”.
lavrov had a brief meeting with his American counterpart, Anthony Blinken, that urged him to put an end to the conflict in Ukraine, on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting.
It was the first face-to-face between the two leaders since the start of the Russian offensive in Ukraine.
Spokesperson for Russian diplomacy, Maria Zakharova, he tried to minimize the importance of the meeting and assured that it was Blinken who started it.
India wanted its G20 presidency to focus on issues like poverty alleviation and climate change, but the war in Ukraine ended up dominating the summit.
Source: Ambito
