What is happening in the Russian region of Belgorod: Intrusion by Ukrainian saboteurs or Russians dissatisfied with Kremlin policy?

Officials of the Kremlin and Russia's Belgorod region today claimed that Ukrainian military saboteurs launched an attack across the Russian-Ukrainian border and wounded three people in a small town, and Ukraine denied any connection to the group.

According to Ukrainian military intelligence, it is a revolt of Russians dissatisfied with the Kremlin's policy.

Neither version of events could be independently verified in Belgorod, a border region of Russia that occasionally spills over from neighboring Ukraine, hit by the Russian invasion.

The Governor of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that a saboteur group of members of the Ukrainian armed forces invaded Russian territory and entered the town of Graivoron, about five kilometers from the border. According to him, Graivoron was also hit by Ukrainian artillery.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been informed about the alleged intrusion of saboteurs in the Belgorod region, and that action was underway "to expel them from Russian territory and liquidate them."

Peskov assessed that the sabotage action was an attempt by Ukraine to divert attention from the city of Bakhmut, which, according to Moscow, fell under its control after months of bloody fighting. Kiev, however, claims that the fighting over that city in the east of the country is still ongoing.

The Ukrainian military intelligence service has not confirmed the intrusion of the saboteurs and claims that they are actually Russian citizens seeking regime change in Moscow.

Ukrainian intelligence representative Andril Chernyak said that behind the attack in Belgorod are groups that call themselves "Russian volunteers" and the "Freedom of Russia" legion.

"Russian volunteers" claim on the Telegram social network that they crossed the border again and invaded Russia, after, as they indicated, they had already done it once in March.

"Russian volunteers" describe themselves as a "volunteer formation fighting on the side of Ukraine".

Little is known about it, and it is not clear whether it has any connections with the Ukrainian army, and the same applies to the "Freedom of Russia" legion.