Russia claimed its military had “completely liquidated” pro-Ukrainian militias that had staged a two-day incursion on its territory, an embarrassing episode that signaled a broader failure more than a year after President Vladimir Putin’s incursion .
The apparent ease with which two Ukraine-based far-right Russian national groups crossed the Russian border and temporarily “liberated” a village drew rare public criticism from local authorities, prompting the Kremlin to downplay concerns.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said in a public broadcast on Wednesday that Russia “blocked and routed the nationalist groups, (then) sent (them) back to Ukrainian territory,” adding that “more than 70 Ukrainian fighters have been wiped out.” terrorist”. He vowed that Moscow would respond “promptly and extremely viciously to future similar acts by Ukrainian militants”.
A Ukrainian military intelligence official admitted Tuesday to working with the groups behind the attack, the Russian Volunteer Army and the Free Russian Legion, which were responsible for this spring’s Belgorod invasion and a string of similar incidents.
Ukraine has called the attacks evidence of a Russian national uprising against Putin and Moscow’s weak grip on the border.
The Russian military has been keen to downplay the apparent flaws exposed by the attack.
On Tuesday, bloggers close to the Ministry of Defense posted two videos showing Alexander Lapin, the top Russian general and head of the Army’s ground forces, urging a small group of soldiers: “Forward, lads, for the Fatherland!” Scenic village streets to walk down, they say it’s part of a counter militia.
But no signs of fighting were heard or seen in footage filmed 5 kilometers from where the fighting took place, according to independent Russian news outlet Agentstvo.
The Defense Ministry also received rare criticism from Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov in a late-night webcast after a local resident complained that the border was “porous”.
Gladkov told residents he agreed and that he “has more questions about the Ministry of Defense than you do.” “We need to draw conclusions from the mistakes made,” Gladkov added.
Asked about Gladkov’s comments, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the war with Ukraine required “very difficult and intense work” that “continuously generates Questions being answered”.
Hardliners around Yevgeny Prigozhin, the founder of Wagner’s paramilitary group, are increasingly critical of Russia’s Ministry of Defense.
Russian forces are on the verge of taking the eastern Ukrainian city of Bahmut – a symbolic victory after the army failed to make significant gains since early last summer.
But the massive loss of men and materiel suffered by the invading force at Bakhmut, combined with a failure to make progress elsewhere on the front line, has raised concerns that Russia could find itself at a disadvantage following the much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Some 15,000 to 16,000 of Wagner’s troops were killed, mostly prisoners released from prison to fight in Ukraine, and some 15,000 to 16,000 of them were killed, Prigozhin said in an interview released late Tuesday. seriously injured.
These stark casualty figures are the biggest acknowledgment by top Russian officials of Moscow’s losses during the conflict.
Prigozhin played a huge role in Russia’s war effort as the regular army’s offensive continued to slump.
While Putin last week specifically thanked Wagner for his role in advancing Bakhmut, Prigozhin remains embroiled in open clashes with the army leadership, which he accuses of deliberately starving paramilitaries of ammunition.
In the interview, Prigozhin said Russian troops “broke the bed” during the initial invasion and claimed that more than a year later “things still haven’t come together.”
Prigozhin said the war was “to ‘denazify’ Ukraine, we made them a world-famous country”. “How do we demilitarize them? We militarize them somehow. They have one of the strongest militaries.”
Prigozhin said Russia needs to declare martial law, mobilize more people into the army and devote all economic resources to producing ammunition. “We’re at a point where we can screw up Russia,” he added.