Putin accuses Ukraine of border 'terrorist act' in Russian village

Russian President Vladimir Putin says a Ukrainian sabotage radical entered a Russian borderline portion connected Thursday and opened occurrence connected civilians successful a "terrorist act".

The politician of Bryansk portion said "saboteurs from Ukraine" had fired astatine a civilian car successful Lyubechane, a borderline village, sidesplitting 2 men and wounding a 10-year-old boy.

Kyiv powerfully denied the Russian claim.

The alleged incidental has not been independently verified.

Mykhaylo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, tweeted that it was "a classical deliberate provocation". "RF [Russia] wants to scare its radical to warrant the onslaught connected different country," helium said.

Russia has antecedently reported immoderate Ukrainian rocket and drone strikes connected Russian borderline areas, including Bryansk region. But determination person been nary confirmed reports of Ukrainian crushed forces infiltrating Russia.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said FSB forces and regular troops connected Thursday clashed with "Ukrainian nationalists" who had crossed into Russia and taken hostages.

The FSB said the "nationalists" were past deed with a monolithic Russian artillery onslaught and pushed backmost into Ukraine. They near a ample cache of explosives successful the village, the FSB alleged.

When Russia launched its large-scale penetration of Ukraine successful February 2022 President Putin branded the Kyiv authorities "nationalists" and "neo-Nazis", arguing that Russia had to enactment against them.

President Zelensky was democratically elected, has Jewish origins and has nary far-right politicians successful his government.

Speaking connected Russian authorities TV connected Thursday President Putin said "today they committed different violent act, different crime, penetrated the borderline country and opened occurrence connected civilians".

"They saw that it was a civilian car, that civilians and children were sitting there, and opened fire. It is precisely specified radical who acceptable themselves the task of depriving america of humanities memory. They volition execute nothing, we volition enactment the compression connected them," helium said.

A video has appeared online claiming to amusement members of the Ukraine-based Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) extracurricular a section clinic. One equipped antheral successful the video, posted connected Telegram, says they crossed into Russia.

The investigative journalism radical Bellingcat Monitoring describes the RVC arsenic "a portion officially formed past twelvemonth made up chiefly of anti-Putin, anti-Kremlin Russian far-right figures progressive successful Ukraine".

A Bellingcat expert, Michael Colborne, has identified 1 of the men successful the video arsenic RVC person Denis Kapustin, who besides uses the surname Nikitin.

"This RVC seems to bash precise small existent fighting, oregon astatine slightest superior fighting, and Kapustin whitethorn person carnal combat sports grooming but helium is not from immoderate benignant of subject background," Mr Colborne told the BBC.

In a substance station with the video the RVC said it "entered Bryansk portion to amusement our compatriots that determination is hope, that escaped Russians carrying arms tin combat the regime".

Commenting connected the RVC claim, a Ukrainian subject quality official, Andriy Yusov, said "these are radical who are warring with arms against the Putin authorities and those who enactment him... Perhaps Russians are opening to aftermath up, realise thing and instrumentality immoderate factual steps".

This week Mr Putin accused Ukraine and Western spies of intensifying operations wrong Russia. Russian officials said a drone crashed successful the Kolomna territory conscionable 100km (62 miles) from Moscow - though it was not confirmed to beryllium Ukrainian - portion 2 Ukrainian drones were allegedly changeable down successful confederate Russia.

Previously Russia said drones had attacked an airbase successful confederate Russia utilized for launching bomber strikes connected Ukraine. Kyiv has not claimed drone attacks wrong Russia, accusing the Kremlin of propaganda.