Russia says it has thwarted the infiltration of Ukrainian “saboteurs” into its territory.

Russia said on Thursday it had foiled a group of Ukrainian “saboteurs” trying to infiltrate its territory through the Bryansk border region, where a Ukrainian pilot had already been arrested.

“Border police of the Federal Security Service of Russia in the Bryansk region thwarted an attempt by a 20-member Ukrainian espionage and sabotage group to enter Russian territory near the village of Slutsovsk,” the region’s governor said in a Telegram. , Alexandre Bogomaz.

“Units of the Russian Armed Forces and units of the Border Guards opened fire on the enemy,” he added.

Russian authorities have in recent weeks been trying to infiltrate border areas from Ukraine by “saboteurs,” who are regularly targeted by artillery bombardments or drone strikes.

On Wednesday, the Russian Security Services (FSB) announced the arrest of a Ukrainian pilot whose small plane crashed near a village in the Bryansk region.

In early March, Russian authorities reported another incursion into the Bryansk region from Ukraine, which opened fire on a car, killing two civilians and wounding a child, according to the FSB.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday ordered his security forces to “do everything possible to ensure the safety of people” in Russia and the occupied Ukrainian territories, where scores of pro-Russian officials have been assassinated in recent years.

Ukraine does not officially recognize “sabotage” activities on Russian territory. Kyiv has denied any connection to the attack that damaged the Crimean bridge last fall.

However, in early March, hundreds of people attended the funeral of fighters from a battalion of volunteers killed during a “sabotage” mission in Russia.