Second day of clashes on Russian mainland near Ukraine border... First since war outbreak

Clashes that broke out in the western mainland of Russia bordering Ukraine have continued for the second day on the 23rd (local time).

Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, stated that the military and security forces are continuing a sweep operation around the Grayvoron area, which was attacked the previous day. He also said that residents who evacuated the day before should not return home yet.

Belgorod city center. [Image source=Yonhap News]

He said, "Security agencies are taking all necessary measures. We are waiting for the counter-terrorism operation to end," adding, "I will inform you as soon as it becomes safe." In addition to clashes with armed groups, drone attacks targeting Belgorod occurred several times from the previous night until early morning. Although there were no casualties caused by the drones, buildings were destroyed and fires broke out.

Additional drone attacks took place that morning, and the Russian military intercepted two drones. Governor Gladkov reported that one elderly person died and two were injured during the evacuation process the day before. As a result, the total number of injured from this incident has risen to 10.

Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, there have been attacks on the Russian mainland adjacent to Ukraine before, but this is the first time that a response operation has continued for two days. The UK Ministry of Defence analyzed in its daily report that day, "Following a fighter jet crash and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks on railways, direct partisan attacks have also occurred, indicating that Russia is facing increasingly serious multiple security threats in the border area."

Belgorod Oblast is a western region of Russia adjacent to Sumy and Kharkiv Oblasts in northeastern Ukraine, serving as an important supply and support base in the invasion of Ukraine.

The day before, Governor Gladkov stated that a Ukrainian sabotage group had infiltrated the Grayvoron area in Belgorod, and the military and border guards were conducting a sweep operation. He declared a counter-terrorism operation in the area late in the afternoon while the operation was ongoing and began evacuating residents. Ukraine denied involvement in this attack, while the Russian opposition group 'Freedom of Russia Legion' claimed responsibility for the attack.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.