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Vladimir Putin, 70, called the attack on Bryansk oblast last Thursday a “terrorist attack” by Ukraine. In fact, it was not Ukrainians who were behind the attack, but Russian neo-Nazis. Their declared goal: to overthrow Putin. Their leader Denis Nikitin (38) told the Financial Times after the attack: “They felt how defenseless they are.”
The group, calling itself the “Russian Volunteer Corps”, succeeded in taking control of two villages in Bryansk on March 2. Members of the Corps have been shown fighting Russia on the Ukrainian side, although they are considered nationalist. According to Russian authorities, two civilians were killed and a child injured in the attack on Bryansk. Nikitin knows nothing about victims, he tells the “Financial Times”.
Russian government admits vulnerability
“We walked around and worked in a border area that had to be strictly protected,” Nikitin reports. The fact that 45 men could easily penetrate the Russian villages shows how weak the Russian defenses are.
For Ruslan Pukhov (49), a member of the Russian government’s expert council, it is clear that the “partisans” have chosen an easy target in Bryansk. “It is difficult to close the border there,” he admits. There are many forests on the border, which makes the situation confusing.
Was Ukraine involved?
Without Ukrainian support it would not have been possible to invade Ukraine, says Nikitin. “There are bridges that have been dug, there are cameras, heat-seeking drones, hidden and open observation points – if I had not coordinated this with anyone, I would have been destroyed,” he says.
Mykhailo Podoliak, 51, a senior adviser in the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, 45, described the attack as a “classic provocation” by Russia intended to justify war in Ukraine. He claims that the partisan movement in Russia is getting stronger. Ukrainian military intelligence described the reports of the skirmishes in the Bryansk region as “the continuation of Russia’s transformation, its purge and liberation from Putin’s dictatorship,” according to Ukraine’s Hromadske news agency. (jwg)
Source: Blick
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
