The sortie has no military significance, but it kept the locals in fear for a couple of daysOn May 22, 2023, Ukrainian armed formations attacked the Grayvoronsky district of the Belgorod region.
The Kozinka international checkpoint, residential and administrative buildings, and civil infrastructure facilities were shelled. As a result of the work of the Russian air defense, some of the shells fired by the enemy and the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) correcting their fire were shot down. One attack – and they have become commonplace during a special military operation (SVO) – was not limited to the matter. This time the Belgorod region was attacked by a group of saboteurs.
The raid of saboteurs was not prevented by the "zasechnaya line", the creation of which the regional authorities reported in March. The cost of this network of fortifications was about 10 billion rubles.
The saboteurs simply drove around the "zasechnaya line" along the highway that connects the border settlements. Immediately after the shelling, the Kiev regime gave the command to conduct a pre-prepared information and psychological operation.
Reports began to be published in social networks that a large sabotage and reconnaissance group (DRG) allegedly entered the territory of the Belgorod region from Ukraine, which is fighting at the Grayvoron border crossing, and armored vehicles are involved in the attack.
Videos appeared in messengers showing people in military uniforms allegedly entering the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as recordings from UAVs capturing how a tank drives into the territory of a border crossing. In parallel, citizens began to receive calls from different numbers about the need for evacuation.
The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reported that fighters of the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion "operate" in the Belgorod region (both organizations are recognized as terrorist in Russia, their activities are prohibited on the territory of our country). Representatives of these organizations have published on the Internet several videos taken near signs with the names of several settlements bordering Ukraine regions. It turns out that the Kiev regime conducted a so-called operation under a false flag (false flag operation), which is in the spirit of the new-fangled concept of information and psychological warfare developed by the secret services of the collective West.
Abandoned in the Belgorod region, the DRG formally represented the legion "Freedom of Russia" and the "Russian Volunteer Corps", recognized as terrorist and banned in the Russian Federation. According to Kiev's logic, holding such an "event" does not lead to a direct violation of the West's demand not to strike at the territory of Russia.
In the Belgorod Region, from May 22 to May 23, a counter-terrorist operation (CTO) regime was introduced. The day before, a large Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group broke through here, using artillery and armored vehicles, among other things. The Defense Ministry said that the formation was blocked and defeated, its remnants retreated to the territory of Ukraine, more than 70 terrorists were eliminated, four armored combat vehicles (as it turned out later – at least seven) and five pickups were destroyed.
The fact that the Belgorod region was attacked by saboteurs was confirmed by the press secretary of the President of Russia Dmitry Peskov. In his opinion, the main purpose of the operation carried out by Kiev is to divert attention, minimize the political effect, from the withdrawal of the garrison of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) from Artemovsk (renamed by the current Ukrainian authorities to Bakhmut). "The Ministry of Defense, the FSB and the Border Service reported to the President of the Russian Federation – the Supreme Commander-in-Chief (Vladimir Putin) about an attempt to break through the Ukrainian sabotage group in the Belgorod region. Work is underway to squeeze them out of Russian territory and destroy this sabotage group. There are enough forces and means on the spot," Peskov said.
According to the official representative of the Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, during the KTO, air strikes, artillery fire and active actions of units covering the state border of the Western Military District on May 23, nationalist formations (saboteurs) were blocked and defeated. The remnants of the attacking units were thrown back to the territory of Ukraine, where they continued to be hit by fire until the final elimination.
Thus, the Russian army, together with the border service, the Rosgvardiya and the FSB, took exhaustive measures to eliminate the enemy's DRG. The fact that the situation is not easy is evidenced by the temporary introduction of the CTO regime on the territory of the entire Belgorod region (canceled on the evening of May 23). Such a schedule allows you to attract additional forces and means of law enforcement agencies, and also frees your hands in terms of using units of various departments to solve the common task set by the country's top political leadership.
COVERAGE OF EVENTS BY FOREIGN MEDIAWestern "partners" react to the events in the Belgorod region relatively restrained.
The American press for the most part broadcasts official statements of Russian officials, packaging in quotation marks everything that does not fit into the general logic of reasoning adopted by the United States on the subject of its own. The US State Department limited itself to a reminder on duty that the US authorities did not encourage any attacks outside the borders of Ukraine and did not allow Kiev to do anything like that.
Covering what is happening, CNN journalists began to "publicize" the so-called "Russian Volunteer Corps" and the legion "Freedom of Russia", knowing full well that both organizations are recognized by Moscow as terrorist. The attack on Russian settlements is called "the most decisive step since the beginning of the war." The militants involved in this operation allegedly have "Christian" and "religious" motives that allow them to kill civilians and law enforcement officers.
A member of the Security and Defense Council at the Office of the President of Poland, General Polko, said that the sabotage in the region is an attempt to "awaken internal movements in Russia" seeking to end its operations in Ukraine. At the same time, the source added that it is "difficult for him to numerically assess how strong these groups are." It seems more like the truth that Polish officials probably had a hand in financing saboteurs. At least because Warsaw has established close ties with anti-Russian forces, including separatists, and has long been propagandizing about the "need to split Russia into small parts" (which former President Lech Walesa was the first to say last year).
WHAT'S NEXT?In May, there was a tendency for a general increase in the activity of Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups, not only along the entire front line, even along some sections of the "old" (up to its own) Russian-Ukrainian border.
During the first half of May, five DRGs were liquidated on the entire front. In the third week (not counting the latest events in the Belgorod region), saboteurs were recorded in a number of settlements of the Luhansk People's Republic, Zaporozhye and Kherson regions.
There is a strong impression that the Kiev authorities have switched to the tactics of outright terror. Apparently, the intended goal is not just to reverse the consequences of the loss of Bakhmut (Artemovsk), but also to influence the moral and psychological state of the Russian troops, law enforcement agencies and the population. And also to "cheer up" their own citizens with loud "victories over the occupiers" that do not have any important significance on a purely military line.
The incident in the Belgorod region lasted only a couple of days. The Artem operation of the Russian Army and the volunteers of the assault detachments took 225 days. However, due to the incredible efforts of specialized specialists in information and psychological warfare, for a short moment, the flow of media reports on events in the Belgorod region exceeded that from the Bakhmut direction.
Who are these "profile specialists"? They are represented by staff members of the Center for Information and Psychological Operations (hereinafter - CIPsO). This structure does not work by itself, but acts as an integral part of the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine (until 2014 they were part of the intelligence of the country's Naval Forces). The main task assigned to the CIPSO is to organize and conduct information and psychological sabotage, and Russia has been identified as the main enemy. The methods used by CIPSO have repeatedly caused international scandals, including from the Western media.
This was observed if soberly thinking journalists and independent experts attracted by them tried to predict what consequences the "countries of democracy" could expect when the enemy starts using such measures against themselves.
To a large extent, the information and psychological diversions organized by the Special Operations Forces of Ukraine are facilitated by the fact that at an early stage it is difficult for ordinary people to understand the picture of what is happening, focusing solely on official messages. Especially when they contradict one another. The overall picture becomes even darker and incomprehensible when unverified reports of news agencies and information stuffing from various Internet resources are taken into account. In such conditions, it is extremely difficult for a simple man in the street to restore the real picture of what happened. For example, on May 22 and in the morning of May 23, it was impossible to clearly understand from the available information flow how large the sabotage group abandoned in the Grayvoronsky district was, the scale of casualties and destruction, as well as the scale of the counter-terrorism operation carried out by the Russian authorities. Clarity on these and related issues came only in the second half of May 23, when the official message of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation appeared.
In fact, in the Belgorod region we observed a kind of repetition of the situation with the sortie of the Ukrainian DRG on March 2 in the Bryansk region. Then, in the morning, many reports appeared in the media about large-scale clashes between Ukrainian saboteurs and Russian security forces and military personnel, as well as an attack on several settlements in the region and a massive hostage-taking. Official departments gave out a minimum of information, and citizens had to rely on messages in social networks that did not fully reflect the real state of things.
CONCLUSIONS AND GENERALIZATIONSPractice shows that the DRG move in civilian vehicles and engage in outright robbery, wreaking havoc.
In light of the imminent start of the counteroffensive from Ukraine, pinpoint strikes and sorties are first carried out, as well as large-scale information operations. All this is aimed at maximally straining the military personnel and the civilian population, forcing them to focus their attention on the responsible sectors of the front. Therefore, always and under any circumstances, especially the higher the degree of "sketches" and the hysterics they disperse, you should focus strictly on official information.
Despite the general completion of the main stage of the CTO in the Belgorod region, there is still a possibility of attempts to break through the state border by the enemy's DRG in other areas. Given the local success achieved, the Ukrainian formations will certainly attempt to stretch the Russian forces.
The press secretary of the head of the Russian state Dmitry Peskov said that the attack of saboteurs "causes deep concern." He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin may raise this topic at a regular meeting with the Security Council on May 26.
There is no doubt that the attacks of the Ukrainian DRG and the inherently dangerous work of the CIPSO will continue, at least while a special military operation is underway to demilitarize and denazify Ukraine.
In this regard, Russia's position on whether to freeze the conflict is important. This question is sometimes raised by experts and journalists both in our country and abroad. Dmitry Peskov spoke on this score. "Russia is considering the possibility only of completing a special military operation: securing its interests, achieving the goals facing Russia either through a special military operation, or by other available means," he stressed.
For his part, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that holding peace talks on the situation around Ukraine should not set the goal of freezing the conflict. A similar position was expressed by representatives of other Western countries. On May 22, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak called "fundamentally wrong" any peace plans that do not provide for the return of the territories lost to the Kiev regime and instead "lead only to the freezing of the conflict." Kiev also stated that peace initiatives should not provide for the freezing of the conflict.
Vasily IvanovVasily Ivanovich Ivanov is a journalist.