Partisan groups which oppose Vladimir Putin’s rule claim to have just attacked western Russia for the second time in ten days.
According to the UK’s Ministry of Defence, this means Russian forces might have to be split between defending its borders from internal assaults and its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Both attacks, which reportedly happened on May 22 and June 1, are thought to have come from the Freedom of Russia Legion.
This group describes itself as an anti-Kremlin militia which seeks to oust the Russian president, and claims to have been formed in spring 2022 “out of the wish of Russians to fight in the ranks of the armed forces of Ukraine against Putin’s armed forces of Ukraine against Putin’s armed gang.”
In a video released on Thursday, the volunteers alleged they had further plans to attack the territory of the Russian Federation.
The UK’s MoD said in its latest update that these supposed attacks from the anti-Putin group led to “a complex battlefield situation”.
It alleged: “What appeared to be uncrewed aerial vehicles also struck Belgorod city (35km inside Russia) while the authorities evacuated civilians from the border town of Shebikino following Ukrainian shelling.”
The Freedom of Russia Legion also released drone footage on Thursday alleging that it had destroyed Russian military equipment in Belgorod.
As Russia is under tight censorship laws and few war critics have opposed Putin directly, this could be seen as a significant sign that public sentiment towards the invasion of Ukraine may be shifting – although details of the anti-Kremlin groups’ origins are still unclear.
Russia’s own defence ministry has admitted that it had to activate the full range of military firepower on its own territory, including helicopters, and a heavy thermobaric rocket launcher to deal with this latest attack.
Still, the UK’s MoD claimed: “The Russian military and interior forces have likely seen quicker success in containing this raid than the previous one.”
The anti-Putin group has also claimed to have crossed the Ukraine-Russia border and overrun the settlement of Kozina on May 22, while also sending units into the town of Grayvoron in Russia’s Belgorod region.
Another anti-Kremlin group called the Russian Volunteer Corps said it was also part of this raid.
At the time, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Putin was informed of this development and that the “saboteurs” would be driven out.
Local authorities also confirmed there was a “counterterrorist regime” blooming in the local area, marking the first time the anti-Putin volunteers had stepped into the spotlight.
On social media in May, the Freedom of Russian Legion introduced themselves by saying: “We are the same Russians as you. We are distinguished only by the fact that we no longer wanted to justify the actions of criminals in power and took up arms to defend our and your freedom.
“But today it’s time for everyoen to take responsibility for their future. It’s time to put an end to the Kremlin’s dictatorship.”
The Kremlin, however, claimed that the May attack was just meant to “divert” attention from the ongoing battle in the occupied Ukrainian city of Bakhmut – although Ukraine said that these partisan fighters had no connection to them.
Senior presidential adivser Mykhailo Podolyak said: “As you know, tanks are sold at any Russian military store and underground guerrilla groups are composed of Russian citizens.”
This phrase echoed Putin’s attempts to explain away Russia’s invasion of the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea back in 2014, saying it was local people who bought their Russian uniforms from military surplus shops.
Still, now there have been two attacks, the UK’s MoD suggested: “Russian commanders now face an acute dilemma of whether to strengthen defences in Russia’s border regions or reinforce their lines in occupied Ukraine.”
These attacks are not the latest ones to shake Kremlin, either. There were a spate of attempted drone attacks on Moscow in May which Kyiv said it was not responsible for, and two other drones spotted above the Kremlin building itself shortly before that.