Europe | Raid on Belgorod

Who are the militias raiding Russia’s Belgorod region?

They have links to Ukrainian military intelligence and, in some cases, to the far right

Mandatory Credit: Photo by SERGEY KOZLOV/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock (13931169l)Members of the 'Russian Volunteer Corps' and 'Freedom of Russia Legion' hold a meeting with the media not far from the Ukraine-Russia border in Kharkiv's area, northeastern Ukraine, 24 May 2023, amid the Russian invasion. According to the group of Russian fighters, who are aligned with Ukraine, during a meeting with the press on 24 May, they engaged in cross-border raids on the territory of the Belgorod region of Russia starting on 22 May 2023. Ukraine has denied Russia's allegation that it was behind the attacks on the Belgorod region and portrayed the incursions by the Russian volunteers as an uprising against the Kremlin and Putin's regime. Russian troops entered Ukraine on 24 February 2022 starting a conflict that has provoked destruction and a humanitarian crisis.Russian fighters aligned with Ukraine claim responsibility for cross-border attack in Russia's Belgorod region, Kharkiv - 24 May 2023
Image: EPA
|KYIV

This article appeared in the Europe section of the print edition under the headline “Raid on Belgorod”

From the May 27th 2023 edition

Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents

Explore the edition

More from Europe

French extreme right-wing National Front party leader Jean-Marie Le Pen waves during a political rally, 1986

Jean-Marie Le Pen revived extremist politics in France

The far-right provocateur has died, aged 96

The European flag with one of the stars as the red maple leaf representing Canada.

Why Canada should join the EU

Europe needs space and resources, Canada needs people. Let’s deal


 Elon Musk speaks at a campaign rally in New York

Elon Musk’s praise for the far right infuriates most of Germany

A controversial op-ed may have set the terms of the election campaign


Serbia and its neighbours are still far from joining the EU

Donald Trump could bring the region yet more upheaval

Finland seizes a tanker, getting tough on hybrid warfare

Russian-linked attacks on undersea infrastructure are rising

A Prague-Berlin train loses its old-world dining cars

The looming end of the Knödelexpress