Is Ukraine Inching Towards Russian Territory? Drone Strike Reported in the Russian City of Bryansk

Last week, Ukrainian military personnel announced that a drone strike had been employed to demolish an unmanned lookout tower in Russia’s Bryansk region, a rarity of an openly admitted cross-border attack that demonstrates Kyiv’s readiness to target Russian soil directly.

The Kraken group, which directly reports to Ukrainian military intelligence, posted a video to their Telegram channel on Monday that they claim documents the attack.

The strike’s timing was uncertain, yet the recording surfaced shortly after a short-lived armed intrusion into a Russian village in Bryansk. This was reportedly accomplished by a faction that declared its allegiance to Ukraine, making it a unique and documented raid on Russia. As a result, the Kremlin labeled this a “terrorist” attack.

A contingent of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a dissident faction that stands against President Vladimir Putin, announced that they had managed to take control of the small village of Lyubichane, which is close to the Ukrainian border. However, reports about the incident varied, and the Russian government declared that the group had been forced out of the country by the end of the day.

The border between Russia and Ukraine has a length of over 1,200 miles and encloses the eastern Donbas region, parts of which are controlled by Moscow. To conduct assaults and bombardments, Russia has taken advantage of regions adjacent to Ukraine, such as Bryansk in the north. 

Kyiv’s government has asserted its authority to retaliate against Russian targets that they allege are being used to bombard Ukrainian locations; however, they have guaranteed not to use weapons from their Western allies for such attacks since these allies are apprehensive that Moscow may take it as an affront.

Throughout the year-long conflict, detonations and blazes have been noted at Russian fuel depots, rail stations, and other military objectives. However, Ukraine has opted for a policy of calculated obscurity about such assaults, seldom affirming responsibility.

Despite Ukraine’s efforts to remain discreet, reports of Ukrainian-perpetrated strikes against Russian targets as far away as Kyrgyzstan have emerged. This points to Kyiv’s broadened campaign of retaliation and a willingness to utilize any means to counter Russia’s growing presence in the region. 

“If goods from Europe were previously sent to Russia, now they are registered as deliveries to Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. But as soon as they are unloaded here, they are immediately taken to Russia,” according to Temir Shabdanaliev, head of the Association of Carriers and Logisticians of the Kyrgyz Republic lobbying group.

“Russia forced us into this union…. There is a risk here, and no one knows how it will turn out. If this is uncovered and can be proved, Kyrgyzstan could have a hard time,” Shabdanaliev said.

Moscow has responded by accusing Ukraine of violating international law and attempting to sabotage its interests in the area. However, as long as they lack concrete evidence, Russian accusations are dismissed mainly by western powers. 

“In order to avoid civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, the enemy has been pushed into Ukrainian territory,” the domestic security service said in a statement by Russian news agencies.

Although Ukraine appears to have an advantage in this game of cat-and-mouse with Russia, it must still be cognizant of the risks it is taking by engaging in a tit-for-tat approach. Kyiv knows that it may be held responsible for any escalation of violence and must exercise its power with caution and responsibility to avoid further brutal Russian retaliation. 

The story about 🇺🇦sabotage group in RF is a classic deliberate provocation. RF wants to scare its people to justify the attack on another country & the growing poverty after the year of war. The partisan movement in RF is getting stronger & more aggressive. Fear your partisans…

— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) March 2, 2023

Many assume that Ukraine has already entered Russian territory on multiple occasions, such as in December, when Engels Air Base, located a distance of 300 miles from the Ukrainian border, was targeted twice.

The governor of the Russian region of Belgorod, located near the Ukrainian border, reported that Russian air defense systems had shot down three missiles above Novy Oskol. Ukrainian authorities provided no comment in response to the Russian statements.

Kyiv sounded the alarm on Monday morning when the Ukrainian Air Force reported detecting an attack from the Bryansk region using at least 15 drones. The Ukrainian government has expressed displeasure at the assault, and the Air Force claimed to have shot down 13 of the drones.

In the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol in southern Ukraine, two significant explosions occurred Sunday night, according to Ivan Fedorov, the exiled mayor of the city who appeared on national television. He further stated that the Ukrainian military is still assessing the damage from the incident. Kyiv’s forces have been aiming for Russian strongholds in Ukraine’s occupied regions.

Russian military long-range missiles and drones have repeatedly hit Ukraine’s civic infrastructure and energy grid. On Sunday, Ukrainian authorities reported that the death toll from a missile attack on an apartment block in Zaporizhzhia a week ago had risen to 13. Still, Russia’s keeping its stance about holding a steadfast defense against the Ukrainian Ground Forces.

“They won’t achieve anything. We will crush them,” Putin said in his national address.