Ukraine’s president on Thursday denounced reports by Russian officials that Ukrainian “saboteurs” had infiltrated the Russian border as a “deliberate provocation” by Moscow.
“The story of a Ukrainian subversive group in Russia is a classic deliberate provocation. Russia wants to terrorize its people to justify its invasion of Ukraine,” presidential adviser Mykhaïlo Podoliak announced on Twitter.
He implied that the incident, reported by Russian security services and the local governor in the Bryansk border region, could be linked to the activity of Russian “partisans”. Partisans are guerrilla fighters.
“Partisan movement in Russia is getting stronger and more aggressive. Fear your supporters…”, assured Mr. Podoliak.
According to Russian authorities, a Ukrainian “espionage and sabotage group” infiltrated the village of Lyobetsane in the Bryansk region, opened fire on a car, killing one resident and wounding a child.
Russian areas bordering Ukraine have been targeted by repeated bombings since the beginning of the invasion a year ago, but Russian officials have rarely identified a subversive group.
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