Russian border agents have thwarted a Ukrainian sabotage group’s third attempt this past month to infiltrate western Russia’s Bryansk region, its governor said late Monday.
Bryansk region Governor Alexander Bogomaz shared photographs of weapons and an ammunition cache he said were seized from the sabotage group by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) border guards and Defense Ministry units.
Bogomaz identified the location of the attempted incursion as the Sevsky municipal district in the southeastern part of the region.
The two previous cross-border attacks targeted the Bryansk region’s southern Starodubsky district on Aug. 15 and the eastern Navlinsky district on Aug. 31.
Bogomaz did not say whether there were any casualties in Monday’s incident.
The Russian Volunteer Corps, a far-right unit of Russian nationals fighting on the side of Ukraine, said late Monday it had killed two FSB officers.
The militia group published obituaries for the two FSB officers on Russian social media. But one of the messages said an FSB officer was killed on Aug. 22, thus casting doubts on its latest claims.
Unlike the two previous attempted incursions, the FSB did not comment on the latest attack as of Tuesday afternoon.
Since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian regions bordering Ukraine have regularly reported shelling and drone strikes from Ukrainian forces.
Cross-border incursions by pro-Ukraine armed militants have increased in recent weeks and months.
Ukraine has denied responsibility for the attacks, blaming instead Russian partisan groups opposed to President Vladimir Putin.