This new day of conflict was marked by the incursion of fighters from Ukraine on Russian soil, in the Belgorod region.
New skirmish in Russia. A group of fighters from Ukraine entered the Belgorod region (Russia) on Monday, May 22, injuring eight people according to local authorities. Moscow has decreed an “anti-terrorist” regime in the area.
Franceinfo takes stock of this new day of conflict.
Fighters from Ukraine make an armed incursion into Russia
The Russian region of Belgorod is the target of an incursion by armed fighters from Ukraine, which has forced Russia to decree an “anti-terrorist” regime and to evacuate civilians in an attempt to repel this new attack on its soil. If other attacks have taken place in recent weeks in this border region, it is the first to have taken on such a scale, with several villages hit by shells. This offensive also illustrates the permeability of Russian defences. Belgorod Region Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the fighting left eight people injured.
Ukraine has denied, as it always does, any involvement in actions on Russian territory. The operation was claimed on a Telegram channel which presents itself as belonging to the “Freedom Legion for Russia”, a group of Russians fighting on the Ukrainian side, which had already claimed to be at the origin of other attacks in the same region. . According to the channel, the group “completely liberated” the village of Kozinka and attacked a second locality, the capital of Gaïvoron. These claims were not independently verifiable.
An incident at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant after night strikes
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine, occupied by Russia, was briefly cut off from the power grid on Monday, after Russian night strikes. Ukrenergo “restored power to the nuclear power plant from the Ukrainian electrical system”said the Ukrainian public operator in a new statement published on Telegram.
Earlier Monday, the Ukrainian atomic agency Energoatom had affirmed that a “offensive” night of the Russian forces had cut the connection with the last high voltage power line connecting the plant to the Ukrainian network.
Wagner Group announces withdrawal from Bakhmout by June 1
The Russian paramilitary group announced on Monday that it will complete the transfer of its positions to the Russian army on June 1 in Bakhmout. “In the western outskirts [de la ville], the lines of defense are in place. So the Wagner group will leave Artiomovsk [le nom soviétique de Bakhmout] between May 25 and June 1”, said Yevgeny Prigojine in an audio recording published by his press service. After months of fighting, the Wagner militia and the Russian army claimed responsibility for the capture of the city on Saturday. For their part, the Ukrainian authorities claim to still control a few buildings in the city, and above all to advance in its suburbs by attacking the Russian flanks.
Ukraine says it countered an unprecedented Russian attack targeting the city of Dnipro
Ukraine said on Monday that it had countered an unprecedented Russian attack overnight targeting the city of Dnipro, in the center-east of the country, with missiles and explosive drones. According to regional authorities, seven people were injured. During this “night attack”Russia launched “16 missiles of various types and 20 Shahed drones”the Ukrainian army said in a statement posted on Facebook.
A total of four “Kh-101/Kh-555 cruise missiles” and all 20 drones “were destroyed by anti-aircraft defence”, she said. The Ukrainian army, however, did not give details on the consequences of the 12 missiles that passed through its defences.