(Republicaninformer.com)- A Russian partisan group tied fighting on the side of Ukraine last Thursday claimed that it briefly took control of a small border village in Russia, according to a report in the New York Times.
The group claiming responsibility for the brief incursion, the Russian Volunteer Corps, is led by an exiled Russian nationalist who opposes Putin and fights on the Ukrainian side.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who canceled a scheduled visit to the Caucuses to be briefed on the incursion, denounced it as a “terrorist” attack.
According to the New York Times, while little is known about what happened in the Russian village, the incident was over by Thursday afternoon.
Throughout the brief incursion, Russian state-controlled news agencies issued several conflicting reports throughout the day. Initially, it was reported that the partisans took up to six people hostage, but that claim was later walked back after local officials said there were no reports of hostages.
The Russian Volunteer Corps posted a video on Telegram showing two armed men outside of what was likely a medical building in the village of Lyubichane in the region of Bryansk along Russia’s border with Ukraine. In the Telegram post, the group said it went to Bryansk to urge “free Russian people” to take up weapons and fight against Putin’s regime.
The authenticity of the video and the claims in the Telegram post could not be independently verified, the New York Times reported.
In a televised meeting with Kremlin officials, Putin accused the partisans of firing on civilians, including children. However, Putin’s claim could not be verified either, the Times reported.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov told reporters on Thursday that the Russian president was monitoring developments in Bryansk closely and was in regular contact with officials in the region.
In a post on Telegram, Aleksandr Bogomaz, the governor of Bryansk, said the saboteurs entered Lyubichane and opened fire on a vehicle, killing the driver and injuring a child. A second man was also killed in the brief incursion.
