Fighting continues on the border with Ukraine in the Belgorod and Kursk regions of Russia — Russian Volunteer Corps
Belgorod, Russia (Svidomi) — The Russian Volunteer Corps chief of staff, call sign Fortuna, told a Ukrainian TV marathon that "offensive actions and advancement along the entire contact line" in the Russian Kursk and Belgorod regions bordering Ukraine are continuing.
The Russians who crossed the Ukrainian-Russian border on March 12 are members of volunteer formations fighting on the side of Ukraine.
The RVC's telegram channel posted a video of the fighting, allegedly near Kozynka in the Belgorod region, near the border with the Sumy region in Ukraine. Another volunteer group, Legion 'Freedom of Russia', posted a video from Russian Zhuravlevka, located near the Kharkiv region's border.
The Russian telegram channel "Rybar" also reports "ongoing clashes in the Kozynka area".
The Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine says that the RVC and other groups, such as the Russian Freedom Legion, Siberian Battalion and others, are acting separately but that the Ukrainian military supports them.
Meanwhile, the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, writes about the constant shelling of the border. According to Gladkov, Belgorod, as well as the districts of Belgorod, Borisov, Graivoron, Krasoyaruzhsky, Novooskolsky, Rakityansky, Shebekinsky, and Yakovlevsky are under fire, allegedly from the Ukrainian armed forces. The governor said there were possibly five dead and five more wounded.
According to the Russian Defence Ministry, Russian air defence allegedly shot down nine Ukrainian missiles and three drones over the Belgorod region on the morning of March 19. Ukraine did not comment on the situation.
In addition, the Russian ministry did not comment on today's reports of fighting in the border region. However, it reported that forty Ukrainian soldiers were allegedly killed in "the border areas of Ukraine near the village of Kozynka in the Belgorod region".
It is impossible to verify the parties' information quickly during active hostilities.
It will be recalled that last year, Russian fighters from the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps also made forays into Russian territory.
