Konashenkov’s statement, in a video published by Russian state-owned RIA Novosti news agency, could not be verified and was swiftly denied by Ukraine. Serhiy Cherevatyi, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army’s eastern command, called the Russian claim “delusional.”
Kyiv’s forces have been preparing new offensive operations, expected to begin soon, to oust Russian troops from occupied Ukrainian territory. Ukrainian officials in recent days have said that there would be no official announcement that the counteroffensive had started, and some have said that it could already be underway.
But in response to the Russian claims, Cherevatyi said the big counterattack had yet to begin. “In reality, when this starts, everyone will know about it,” he said, noting that the operation would hinge on an element of surprise just like a counteroffensive last fall that pushed Russian forces out of positions in the northeast Kharkiv region. “It will be like Kharkiv,” he said, “fast, effective and obvious to them and everyone else.”
Before the lightning push through Kharkiv last September, Ukraine had maneuvered its forces to raise heavy speculation about an attack in Kherson region to the south. Kyiv later admitted purposely creating a distraction. A counterattack in Kherson then followed in November.
Ukraine has not given any indication of where or when the new offensive will start. But in perhaps a bit of psychological operations, its military on Sunday released a video of soldiers putting fingers to their lips, vowing to remain silent.
Amid anticipation of the new ground operations, towns in Russia’s western Belgorod region have come under heavy shelling and other attacks. Belgorod’s governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, blamed the attacks on Ukraine’s military, but two anti-Putin paramilitary groups have claimed credit for them.
The fighting appeared to intensify on Monday, as a power facility caught fire following a drone attack. The town of Shebekino, located about four miles from the Ukrainian border, was also under heavy shelling, according to residents interviewed by Radio Europe.
The pro-Ukrainian militias, which claimed to have carried out a series of cross-border incursions in recent days, said their forces had mounted another attack on government facilities and taken Russian soldiers prisoner over the weekend.
On Sunday, Gladkov said he was willing to meet an opposition group that had taken prisoners from the region. But the governor skipped the meeting, according to the Russian Volunteer Corps, one of two anti-Kremlin militia groups operating on Russian soil in support of Ukraine.
Kyiv has denied any involvement in the attacks on Russian soil and sought to distance itself from the groups.
In a jab at Moscow, Andriy Yusov, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military intelligence, which has admitted to cooperating with the militia groups in the past, told Ukrainian national television on Saturday that Russia had been unable to quash the cross-border attacks because its security forces were only “trained to beat the participants of peaceful protests.”
Ilya Ponomarev, a founder of the Free Russia Legion, the second militia group, claimed that anti-Putin forces now control about a dozen settlements in Belgorod region.
According to Ponomarev, the Free Russia Legion is operating in Shebekino. Russian authorities have said that the town is being hit by Ukrainian armed forces from across the border, but have not confirmed if the militias are present on the ground
Ponomarev said the goal of the attack was to seize Shebekino and hold it.
Last week, the same groups carried out a raid in a different part of Belgorod region to test Russia’s defenses, he said.
“It shows that the breakdown of Russia’s state defenses because they have sent all that they have to Ukraine, and now they have absolutely no reserves,” Ponomarev said.
Ponomarev denied that the anti-Putin forces had shelled Russian settlements and towns, laying the blame on Russia’s army. His claims could not be verified.
The attacks in Belgorod region, along with statements by Ukrainian officials in recent days that Ukraine is “ready” for its counteroffensive, have heightened the sense that a new phase of the 15-month war may be about to begin.
Cherevatyi, the Ukraine eastern command spokesman, claimed Russian soldiers were “scaring each other” and spreading rumors. He sent The Washington Post a military notice given to Russian soldiers which he said was taken from a Russian prisoner of war captured two weeks ago. The notice said: “The counteroffensive will happen unexpectedly, and it’s 100 percent likely it will happen at night, just like the Nazis did in 1941.”
The Russian Volunteer Corps posted a video on Monday afternoon intended as evidence that their unit was present in Novaya Tavolzhanka, an area located between the border and Shebekino.
“Despite the [Russia] authorities’ assurances, the RVC fighters continue to control Novaya Tavolzhanka,” a caption on the video said.
Early this morning, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had stopped an attempt on Sunday by “Ukrainian terrorists” to enter Novaya Tavolzhanka via the nearby Seversky Donets River which crosses into Russia from Ukraine. The ministry said Russia had killed 10 of the attackers.
The Russian ranks, however, appeared to be in disarray.
After the recent incursions into Belgorod region, some pro-war Russian bloggers dubbed the area “Belgorod front line,” underscoring the blowback of Moscow’s stalling invasion of Ukraine, with active fighting underway on Russian soil.
At least 4,000 people, roughly 10 percent of Shebekino’s population, have evacuated in recent days, with many of them now housed in shelters in the regional capital of Belgorod city, Gladkov said.
At least 10 have people died, and dozens were hospitalized with blast injuries last week, according to local media.
In Belgorod and two other border regions, local radio stations broadcast a fake announcement from President Vladimir Putin, urging residents to evacuate “deeper into the country immediately” and announcing a general mobilization “to defeat the cunning and dangerous enemy.”
“The purpose of the message is to sow panic among peaceful Belgorod residents,” local authorities said.
The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, said on Monday that the radio stations were hacked, but broadcasters have since “regained control.”
In another bizarre turn, the months-long feud between Wagner mercenary boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin’s and Russia’s Defense Ministry appeared to have moved beyond rhetoric, into an actual confrontation.
Prigozhin accused the regular military of placing explosives on roads used by mercenaries to retreat from Bakhmut, the eastern Ukrainian city recently captured by Russia after a months-long siege led by Wagner.
On Sunday, Prigozhin posted a statement saying that Russian soldiers shelled his Wagner fighters who were demining the roads. He claimed the alleged attack was repelled, and Wagner detained Lt. Col. Roman Venevitin of Russia’s 72nd Motorized Rifle Brigade.
Shortly after, Prigozhin’s press service posted what appeared to be Venevitin’s making a confession on video, in which he said he had ordered his troops to shoot at Wagner mercenaries “in a state of intoxication and out of personal enmity.”
Prigozhin’s claims could not be independently verified, and the Russian Defense Ministry did not publicly comment on the accusations.
Russian news outlets the Insider and Sirena have identified the man in the video as active duty serviceman, 45-year-old Roman Venevitin.
Prigozhin doubled down his criticism of the country’s military leadership, accusing Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu of failing to protect the Belgorod region, and vowing to send his private army there instead.
“If the Ministry of Defense does not stop this outrage that is going on when the Russian lands are being seized, we will come to the Belgorod region and protect our Russian people,” he said. Prigozhin also offered to participate in negotiations with the anti-Kremlin militias who had captured Russian troops in Belgorod, saying that he would personally attend negotiations with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Koshiw and Schmidt reported from Kyiv, Ukraine and Ilyushina from Riga, Latvia.
