Russian security forces foiled an attempt of a group of Ukrainian “saboteurs” to enter Russia, the governor of the Bryansk region that borders Ukraine said Thursday.
The announcement came a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that saboteurs were acting inside Russia.
“Today, the border department of the FSB (security service) of the Bryansk region thwarted an attempt by a Ukrainian saboteur group of 20 people that tried to cross into the Russian Federation near the village of Sluchovsk,” Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region, said on Telegram.
He said Russian army units and border troops had shot at the group.
Sluchovsk is a village in Russia on the border with northern Ukraine and lies relatively far from active fighting zones.
Earlier on Thursday he said Ukrainians had shot at the nearby village of Zapesochye.
“There were no casualties. There is partial damage to around 10 houses and a car,” Bogomaz said.
The alleged attempted incursion came a day after Russia’s FSB security service said it detained a pilot of a Ukrainian light aircraft that crashed into the Bryansk region.
In early March, Russian security services had accused Ukrainian combatants of crossing into the Bryansk region and killing two civilians.
