Ukraine war: US distances itself from Belgorod incursion into Russia

The US has distanced itself from an incursion into Russia - which Moscow says ended successful the decision of equipped insurgents who entered from Ukraine.

Parts of the borderline portion of Belgorod came nether onslaught connected Monday, successful 1 of the astir large cross-border raids since Russia invaded its neighbour past year.

Russia aboriginal released pictures of abandoned oregon damaged Western subject vehicles, including US-made Humvees.

The US insisted it did not "encourage oregon alteration strikes wrong of Russia".

A authorities section spokesperson acknowledged reports "circulating connected societal media and elsewhere" that US-supplied weapons had been used, but said his state was "sceptical astatine this clip of the veracity of these reports."

In a quality briefing connected Tuesday, Matthew Miller added: "it is up to Ukraine to determine however to behaviour this war."

Villages successful Belgorod adjacent the borderline were evacuated aft coming nether shellfire. Russia says 70 attackers were killed, and has insisted the fighters were Ukrainian.

But Kyiv denies engagement - and 2 Russian paramilitary groups opposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin accidental they were down the incursion.

Monday's raid led Moscow to state a counter-terrorism operation, giving the authorities peculiar powers to clamp down connected communications and people's movements.

The measures were lone lifted the pursuing afternoon, and adjacent then, 1 of the paramilitary groups was claiming it inactive controlled a "small, but our ain portion of the Motherland".

Belgorod's politician said 1 civilian had died during the violence, and that respective others had been injured.

In a aboriginal development, Vyacheslav Gladkov said connected Tuesday evening that Belgorod had travel nether caller onslaught from a drone which dropped an explosive instrumentality and damaged a car.

He said the flying conveyance had been changeable down and that determination did not look to beryllium immoderate caller casualties.

The claims by the warring sides person not been independently verified - though the BBC was capable to found that a gathering utilized by Russia's main information agency, the FSB, was among those deed during the violence. It is not wide what caused the damage.

Commenting connected the hostilities successful Belgorod, Russia's defence ministry said a "unit of the Ukrainian nationalist formation" had invaded its territory to transportation retired attacks.

One of its photos showed a wrecked conveyance with the words "for Bakhmut" written successful Russian connected the side. This appears to notation to the Ukrainian metropolis which Russia says it has precocious captured - a assertion disputed by Kyiv.

As good arsenic sidesplitting dozens of what it described arsenic "Ukrainian terrorists" successful artillery and aerial strikes, the ministry claimed to person driven the remainder of the fighters backmost to the Ukrainian border.

But Ukrainian officials said the attackers were Russians, from groups known arsenic the Liberty of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC).

Social media posts from the 2 paramilitary groups appeared to corroborate their involvement. Both groups besides told Ukraine's nationalist broadcaster Suspilne that they were creating "a demilitarised portion connected the borderline with the Russian Federation from which they volition not beryllium capable to ammunition Ukraine".

Any assaults connected Russian ungraded marque leaders successful the Nato subject confederation of Western countries tense - meaning that the developments could beryllium a mixed blessing for Kyiv.

The cross-border incursion whitethorn beryllium embarrassing for Moscow, and spell immoderate mode to offset the atrocious optics for Ukraine of reportedly losing power of Bakhmut aft months of aggravated and bloody fighting.

It is besides apt to beryllium portion of Ukraine's shaping operations up of its coming counter-offensive, aiming to gully Russian troops distant from the southbound wherever Kyiv is expected to attack.

But it is not a improvement that is apt to welcomed by the West.

The long-range weapons these countries person provided to Kyiv - though not utilized successful this onslaught - inactive travel with the proviso they are not to beryllium utilized to deed targets wrong Russia.

Despite authoritative denials from Kyiv, it is hard to judge this raid was launched without assistance from Ukrainian subject intelligence.

It plays into the Kremlin communicative that Russia's ain sovereign information is nether onslaught from malign forces backed by the West.

It is simply a communicative apt to beryllium fuelled by reports that immoderate of those who took portion are linked to far-right extremism, reinforcing Moscow's assertion that it is trying to escaped Ukraine of neo-Nazis.