70 Ukrainians killed in one day, the attack in Belgorod "enrages" the Russians, the border areas are emptied from fierce fighting

A surprise attack on Russia's Belgorod region appears to have alarmed Russia, which accused Ukraine of masterminding the biggest incursion into Russian territory since the start of the Russian offensive in neighboring Ukraine. In fact, this was considered an attack that shows that the war is moving inside Russia. However, the Kremlin has denied any rumours, saying it had "destroyed" the group that attacked the region a day earlier. "In the anti-terrorist operation, with the help of the air force and artillery and with the actions of the border defense units of the Western Military District, the Ukrainian nationalist formations were stopped and destroyed," said the press release from the Russian Ministry of Defense. "The remaining nationalists retreated to Ukrainian territory, where airstrikes continued, until their complete destruction," the ministry added, saying more than 70 Ukrainian terrorists were killed. The ministry, as usual, did not specify the number of victims in its ranks or the damage caused in this attack, the largest of its kind on Russian territory. Russia accuses Ukraine of being behind the cross-border terrorist attack, which Kiev denies, saying it was carried out by Russian fighters opposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin. Responsibility for the attack was claimed on the Telegram channel by a group calling itself the "Russian Freedom Legion", which includes fighters fighting on the Ukrainian side and has previously claimed to be behind similar attacks in the same area. Another similar group called the "Russian Volunteer Corps" took part in the operation, which left two civilians injured and displaced hundreds of people.