Ukrainian troops have apparently entered Russia's Belgorod Oblast during the ongoing incursion into Kursk oblast, Ukrainian media reported based on a video published on the morning of Aug. 10.
In the video, posted by Ukrainian media, five uniformed men with blue tape armbands are standing outside the building as one of them says: "I wish you health, the 252nd battalion is in the village of Poroz, Belgorod Oblast. Glory to Ukraine!"
The soldiers in the video held the battalion's flag and a Georgian flag, and the sign on the building behind them reads "Porozovsky Village Club."
According to the Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne, the Ukrainian-based fact-checking project VoxCheck confirmed the video as filmed in Poroz, three kilometers away from the Ukrainian border.
The date of the video's filming is unknown. It is also unknown whether it was a raid or an expansion of the ongoing cross-border incursion into Russia, Suspilne said.
While Ukrainian officials and military command have so far not officially commented on the operation in Kursk Oblast, media are forced to rely on limited and questionable information circulated by Russian Telegram channels and videos of Ukrainian forces that often surface anonymously.
Russian authorities on Aug. 9 introduced a so-called "counter-terrorism operation" in bordering Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod oblasts in response to Ukraine's incursion.
Earlier on Aug. 9, Russia's Defense Ministry said it was sending additional military equipment to Kursk Oblast's Sudzha district, 10 kilometers (6 miles) east of the Ukrainian border.
However, Russia “may be resisting” the pressure to redeploy troops from the other frontline directions to Kursk, as it could disrupt Russian offensive operations in Ukraine’s east, according to the report by the Institute for the Study of War on Aug. 9.
Belgorod Oblast Governor Viacheslav Gladkov announced on Aug. 10 that the entry to the village of Poroz is closed due to a “counter-terrorism operation regime.”
He also claimed that “residents who have just left say they have not seen the enemy and have not heard any shooting.”
About 10 people still remain in the village, Gladkov added.
Francis Farrell
