Ukraine’s army intelligence says anti-Putin Russian volunteer militias don’t seem to be appearing beneath orders from Kyiv.Professional-Ukrainian militias declare they’ve crossed into Russian border areas and introduced assaults, whilst Russia insists it beat again the raids, staged 3 days earlier than it holds a presidential election.
Teams of Ukraine-based militias, made up of pro-Kyiv Russian volunteer warring parties who oppose Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, reported on Tuesday that that they had entered the Kursk and Belgorod areas, their alleged assaults introduced amid Ukraine’s greatest drone and missile offensive since Ukraine invaded Russia in February 2022.
The new Ukrainian offensive set two oil refineries in Russia ablaze.
Ilya Ponomarev, a former member of the Russian Duma, now appearing as political head of the Freedom of Russia Legion, mentioned on Telegram that the raids have been performed by way of his staff in a “joint operation” with the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Siberian Battalion.
The Legion claimed it was once nonetheless clashing with Russian forces as of one:15pm native time (10:15 GMT). It revealed a video from a drone purportedly appearing a automobile being blown up and warring parties at the streets of the village of Tyotkino, at the border between Russia and Ukraine.
On the other hand, Russia’s Ministry of Defence mentioned its forces had thwarted the ultimate assault at 8:25am (05:25 GMT). It reported that it had fought off a couple of assaults by way of “Ukrainian terrorist teams” that had tried to invade from 3 instructions after “in depth shelling” of civilian websites.
“All of the Ukrainian assaults have been repelled. The enemy was once hit by way of airplane, rockets and artillery,” it mentioned.
Kursk Governor Roman Starovoyt mentioned a shootout in his area had taken position, however a full-scale incursion have been thwarted. Within the wake of the assaults, colleges within the town of Kursk are switching to on-line categories, in step with the TASS information company.
Every other pro-Kyiv paramilitary staff, the Russian Volunteer Corps, posted night-vision video on Tuesday purporting to turn its troops engaged in a firefight.
Ukraine-based militias have claimed to be at the back of earlier incursions into Russian territory. Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s army intelligence, mentioned that the Russian volunteer teams weren’t appearing beneath orders from Kyiv.
However he added that the assaults confirmed “the Kremlin is as soon as once more now not in keep an eye on of the location in Russia”.
A spokesperson for the political wing of the Freedom of Russia Legion informed the AFP information company on Tuesday that the assault was once timed to coincide with Russia’s March 15-17 presidential elections.
“This isn’t an election in any respect. It’s the subsequent degree of a usurpation of energy, the formation of Putin’s dictatorship beneath the guise of elections,” spokesman Alexei Baranovsky mentioned.
Main oil refinery hit
The cross-border assault got here as Kyiv introduced one in all its most important drone moves on Russia up to now within the two-year warfare.
Moscow mentioned it downed 25 Ukrainian drones over areas together with Moscow, Leningrad, Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, Tula and Oryol. Waves of drone assaults endured in the course of the day, the defence ministry mentioned.
Russian officers reported assaults on power amenities, together with a hearth at Lukoil’s NORSI refinery and a drone destroyed at the outskirts of the city of Kirishi, house to Russia’s second-largest oil refinery.
Gleb Nikitin, governor of the Nizhny Novgorod area, posted an image of a hearth truck beside the NORSI refinery and mentioned emergency services and products have been operating to place out a blaze there.
“A gasoline and effort complicated facility was once attacked by way of unmanned aerial cars,” Nikitin mentioned on Telegram.
Trade resources informed the Reuters information company on situation of anonymity that the principle crude distillation unit (AVT-6) at NORSI was once broken within the assault, this means that that a minimum of part of the refinery’s manufacturing is halted. Lukoil declined to remark.
