Russian volunteer fighters say they’ve penetrated the country’s border and are within miles of an empty nuclear storage site.
The Freedom of Russia Legion, Siberian Battalion and the Russian Volunteer Corps — volunteer fighters on behalf of Ukraine who are critical of Vladimir Putin’s invasion — took control of the village of Gorkovsky, the Siberian Battalion wrote on Telegram, Knewz.com has learned.
“(Two) lines of advance towards the now empty tactical nuclear weapons depot of Belgorod 22,” the post said next to a map showing where the fighting is happening near Russian trenches and the Belgorod-22, according to Newsweek.
“Recent attacks by Ukraine backed Russian Forces took the town of Gorkovksy village, Belgorod region. Both lines of advance from Kozinka and Gorkovsky are 10 miles from the depot,” the post reads.
“I would doubt they would try to reach the place, it’s very heavily guarded. Indeed, the guard is the main function of the garrison there,” Pavel Podvig, an independent analyst based in Geneva where he runs the Russian Nuclear Forces research project, told Newsweek.
Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief, said over the weekend that Kyiv is helping the anti-Russia groups and that they are no longer considered a “grouping.” He said they were “becoming a force.”
The Russian opposition groups’ charge into Russia comes less than a week after the Kremlin claimed that it halted them from penetrating the border.
As Knewz.com reported on March 13, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have thwarted the armed incursion on Tuesday, March 12, killing 234 fighters during the battle.
The failed incursion came as Ukraine struck two oil facilities deep inside Russia with long-range drones.
The drone attacks across eight regions of Russia showed that Ukraine’s technological advances have led to successful assaults across the border, according to The Associated Press.
It’s difficult to confirm what information is legitimate at the Russian border near Kursk and Belgorod. Both Ukraine and Russia make claims and counterclaims over time that rarely can be confirmed from afar.
Both sides — Russian volunteers fighting for Ukraine and Russia itself — have released statements and videos including claims that they’ve penetrated the border.
They say they want a “Russia liberated from [Russia President Vladimir] Putin’s dictatorship.”
Roman Starovoit, the governor of Russia’s Kursk region, said in a video that Tetkino, which is close to the border, was being shelled.
“There was an attempt by a sabotage and reconnaissance group to break through. There was a shooting battle, but there was no breakthrough,” he said in a video message on Telegram, according to The Associated Press.
However, Russia’s Defense Ministry said the fighters were pushed back. The defense ministry also said its fighters halted four of the fighters’ attempts to cross into the Belgorod region.
The defense ministry provided no further details.
The post Pro-Ukraine Russian Rebel Fighters Advance Toward Nuclear Storage Site, Take Control of Nearby Village appeared first on Knewz.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: David Wetzel
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://knewz.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.