"RVC" and Legion "Freedom of Russia" continue operation in Belgorod region, - ISW
As reported by Censor.NET with reference to RBC-Ukraine, this is stated in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Russian authorities announced the end of the "counter-terrorist operation" in the Belgorod region on 23 May, claiming to have allegedly defeated the LFR and RVC, which are fighting on the side of Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defence said that border troops of the Western Military District (MD) repelled the raid and expelled all the 'saboteurs' from Belgorod region. The governor of the region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, called on the evacuated residents to wait before returning to the border settlements.
Later, on 23 May, Russian authorities announced that they had evacuated 100 civilians from 9 border settlements in Belgorod Oblast the day before, although Gladkov initially denied that an official evacuation had taken place.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin will not hold an emergency meeting of the Security Council to discuss the raid in Belgorod, but will instead discuss the situation during the scheduled meeting of the Security Council on 26 May, likely in an attempt to express confidence in Russia's ability to handle the situation.
"As of 23 May, Russian forces appear to have pushed back the RVC and LFR forces, at least to the border village of Kozynka and possibly beyond Russian territory," the ISW notes, adding that Kozynka is located about 76 km southeast of the Ukrainian city of Sumy.
Russian sources circulated footage of the military shelling the positions of the RVC and LFR's vehicles near the Kozynka border crossing point during the night, and stated that in the morning, Russian forces had retaken Kozynka and its border crossing point.
Geolocated footage from Russian state media showed damaged and destroyed vehicles at the checkpoint. Some Russian sources claimed that the RVC and LFR forces had gained a foothold in the Kozynka church, but preliminary reports suggested that Russian forces could have pushed them out by the evening.
Russian sources also claimed that Russian troops began mopping-up operations in Kozynka and Hlotove (directly east of Kozynka) on 23 May. Geo-located footage released on 23 May shows the aftermath of shelling of Mount Podil (approximately 6km north-west of Kozynka) and Russian infantry patrolling between Hraivoron (approximately 7km north-west of Kozynka) and Mount Podil.
This allowed the experts to assume that the RVC and LFR fighters no longer hold or have never held positions in the village. It is unclear whether they took control of any settlements on 22 or 23 May.
However, the LFR claimed that on 23 May, their fighters, together with the RVC, continued to operate in the Belgorod region.
The ISW also found no evidence to support Russian sources' claims that Ukrainian forces conducted raids across the Kharkiv-Belgorod border on 23 May.
Some Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian and Ukrainian-affiliated forces, including the Azov regiment, Kraken, TD and AFU, and RVC personnel conducted additional raids in the area of Horkove, Bohun Horodok and Tsapivka and managed to cross the border south of Shchetynivka.
Other Russian sources denied the claim that the SRG had crossed the Kharkiv-Belhorod border. Russian sources also claimed that Ukrainian forces had amassed reserves less than 10 kilometres from the Kharkiv-Belhorod border and expressed concern about the threat of further raids.
One "military commander" claimed that Azov, Kraken, terrorist units and regular Ukrainian forces took part in a raid in Bryansk Oblast (Russia) on 22 May, but ISW has not yet received confirmation of this alleged raid.
"The Russian information space is largely hyper-focused on the alleged targets of the raids and Russia's response," the Institute for War Studies added.
As a reminder, on 22 May, members of the Russian Volunteer Corps conducted a new raid in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation. They destroyed a border checkpoint in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation.
Telegram channels reported explosions in the region. At a meeting with the governor, the head of the border town of Hraivoron reported "disturbing news" from the military unit.
A video was also posted online showing a tank entering the territory of the Graivoron checkpoint in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation.
Subsequently, the Legion of Freedom of Russia and the RVC announced the liberation of Kozynka in the Belgorod region. And the Russian authorities began evacuating a nuclear munitions storage facility located in the region.
On 23 May, it became known that members of the Legion of Freedom of Russia and the RVC had begun construction of fortifications at the Graivoron checkpoint in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation.
On the same day, the Russian Ministry of Defence stated that it had allegedly defeated the RVC and the Freedom of Russia Legion in the Belgorod region, killing more than 70 people, but the RVC and the Freedom of Russia Legion denied this information.
