Ukrainian Forces Reportedly Attempt Breakthrough in Russia’s Belgorod Region

Pro-military Telegram channels have reported an attempted incursion by Ukrainian forces into Russia’s Belgorod region. However, accounts of the scale of the operation vary widely. The region’s governor confirmed that the situation at the border “remains difficult.”

Belgorod sits directly across the border from Ukraine’s Kharkiv region and has been subjected to repeated shelling and drone attacks by Kyiv’s forces since May 2023.

According to the pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Shot, around 60 Ukrainian soldiers, supported by 8 armored vehicles, launched the operation near the village of Nehoteevka at approximately 8:00 a.m.

Later, the Mash Telegram channel provided a different account, claiming that around 200 Ukrainian troops and several infantry fighting vehicles were involved in the same area.

Mash also reported that 300 Ukrainian soldiers engaged in fighting near the Shebekino checkpoint in Belgorod.

“Information has emerged that the enemy is trying to break through the border of the Belgorod region,” Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

“According to the Russian defense ministry, the situation on the border remains difficult but under control,” he added.

He later posted a message saying Ukraine had launched shelling and drone attacks on at least three villages in the region, without commenting further on the reported incursion.

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Other pro-Russian military channels offered conflicting reports on the scale of the clashes. WarGonzo described it as “regular skirmishes with small groups of Ukrainian forces.”

The channel Veteran’s Notes downplayed the incident as a “little skirmish,” emphasizing that “everything is fine now.”

The Romanov Light Telegram channel questioned the validity of the reports, stating that there were “no confirmed attempts from the scene to storm Nehoteevka or the Shebekino checkpoint.”

Russia’s border regions have been on high alert since Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into the Kursk region three weeks ago, seizing dozens of villages in the biggest cross-border attack on Russia since World War II.

Russia said earlier this month it would send more troops to defend the Belgorod region, with authorities there having earlier declared a state of emergency due to Ukraine’s attacks.