The situation in Russia’s Belgorod region is reportedly “under control” following an attempted incursion by the Ukrainian army two weeks ago, according to Russian commander Apti Alaudinov, as cited by the state RIA news agency on Friday.
While Ukrainian forces strive to maintain their hold on a portion of Russia’s Kursk region that they seized last year, they have also attempted a low-profile incursion into the neighboring Belgorod region, as noted by Russian military bloggers.
Alaudinov, who leads Chechnya’s Akhmat special forces, stated on Russian state television that Moscow’s troops are actively “clearing areas” of Ukrainian forces in Belgorod.
“Our overall situation is quite favorable,” RIA quoted him as saying. “The enemy continues to send in fresh troops, despite suffering significant losses daily and failing to achieve their objectives.”
Reuters has not been able to independently verify Alaudinov’s claims.
A pro-Russian war blogger known as ‘Two Majors’, who has over 1.2 million followers, reported on Friday that fighting persists around the villages of Demidovka and Popovka in Belgorod, which are located just across the border from Ukraine.
“The enemy is still trying to penetrate the forest belts,” Two Majors noted, adding that Ukrainian forces are also attacking four other towns near the Belgorod border.
See more: Germany Offer an Additional 3 Billion Euros in Military Aid to Ukraine.
On Friday, Belgorod’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, reported multiple instances of Ukrainian shelling and drone strikes over the previous day targeting those four towns—Murom, Malinovka, Masychevo, and Shebekino—as well as several others. Gladkov mentioned that one individual was injured in Shebekino when a drone exploded in a parking lot.
In a separate update, the Russian Defence Ministry announced on Friday that fighting continues in the northern Kursk region, where Russian forces are engaged in efforts to dislodge Ukrainian troops from their last significant stronghold.
Russian war bloggers have indicated that over 300 Ukrainian soldiers are taking refuge in a monastery in Kursk, from which they are attempting to defend their positions in a village named Guevo.
