Border skirmishes, drone strikes, and a plane crash: Violence in Russia ahead of election
Russia has been hit this week inside its own territory with several strikes carried out.
In the past three days, there have been skirmishes and incursions across its southern border, and drones have successfully targeted sites important to its economically crucial oil and gas sector.
On 15-17 March, Russian citizens are scheduled to vote in the country’s presidential election.
While there is little prospect for democratically-led change in the near-term, the lead-up to the election has not been smooth.
Attacks across Russia’s southern border
On 12 March, the Russian Volunteer Corps, Freedom of Russia Legion, and Siberian Battalion claimed to have attacked positions along Russia’s southern border.
While the accounts provided by these groups have not been verified, it’s clear that fighting occurred in at least three locations.
These groups, based in Ukrainian territory and comprising fighters opposed to Vladimir Putin’s government, engaged the Kremin’s forces in the country’s southern Belgorod and Kursk Oblasts, as the war was brought closer to home for Russians.
The skirmishes in southern Russia occurred in three areas along its border with Ukraine. The most prolonged fighting occurred around the town of Tetkino in Kursk Oblast, which anti-Putin forces claimed to have captured on 12 March.
Another attack appears to have occurred further south, near the town of Spodaryushino, in Belgorod Oblast. While it is unclear how prolonged this engagement was, footage posted on 12 March shows a group of Russian troops pulling back from the border.
Fighting also occurred around the border crossing near the Russian town of Nekhoteevka, also in Belgorod Oblast. Aerial footage shows a disabled tank that appears to have been abandoned by anti-Putin forces in this location.
While troops appear not to have advanced far into the Russian interior, clashes in the border regions were accompanied by drone strikes targeting sites in the city of Belgorod.
According to geolocated footage, the City Hall was damaged in these strikes.
Strikes on Russian oil facilities
Further into Russian territory, Ukrainian strikes against oil facilities appear to have been occurring with increasing frequency.
Image of oil refinery on fire in Kstovo circulating on social media
On 12 March, it was reported an oil storage facility in the Western city of Oryol was set alight by a strike.
And a Lukoil-owned complex situated over 500 miles from the Ukrainian border in Kstovo, Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, was successfully targeted by drones on the same day.
These attacks were followed by a strike on an oil refinery in Ryazan Oblast on 13 March. According to Russian officials, this resulted in a fire and injuries to two people.
Reports of fires at all three of these sites have been confirmed by geolocated footage.
Military transport plane crashes after fire
On 12 March, footage emerged showing a Russian military transport plane crashing near the Russian city of Ivanovo.
Video from the area shows the Ilyushin Il-76 flying low with one of its engines on fire before crashing.
According to Russian officials, eight crew members and seven passengers were onboard at the time of the crash.
What this means for Russia
On the significance of the attacks along Russia’s southern border, Sky News security and defence analyst, Professor Michael Clarke, said that while they are minor on a grand scale, they demonstrate a lack of competence and preparedness on the part of local Russian forces.
On the wider implications of strikes within Russia, Prof Clarke pointed out the pre-election period was a “sensitive time” for the regime.
He added that the optics of drone attacks and the loss of a IL-76 were unlikely to help Russians feel better about their country’s security.
It “cuts my heart” and is a “betrayal”.
This was the response of a Ukrainian soldier in a frontline combat regiment directly affected by Donald Trump’s decision to pause US military support to Ukraine.
Serhii, 45, maintains a unit of US-supplied Bradley infantry fighting vehicles that are defending an area of eastern Ukraine from attacking Russian forces.
The halt to American military aid – if sustained – means there will be no new ammunition and no ability to repair any of the vehicles when they are damaged – a constant risk.
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On a recent mission by the 425th Storming Regiment “Skala”, three Bradleys went into battle towards the direction of the city of Pokrovsk, an area of heavy clashes.
Only two returned after the other was hit by the Russian side.
Troops said it would be for Ukraine to defend their land without US military support
“It’s going to be very hard,” Serhii said, standing next to a large Bradley, covered by a camouflage net and tucked under a line of trees in the Donetsk region.
“These vehicles are really good. You can fight back with them. And not just defend, you can even advance. It’s a shame we didn’t have this equipment two or three years ago.”
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Trump pauses military aid to Ukraine – what now?
The regiment has been using Bradleys for a number of months. Serhii is the lead mechanic.
The tracked vehicles, armed with a chain gun that can fire 200 rounds per minute, were first developed in the 1980s but have been fitted with modern reactive armour that means they can survive drone strikes, rocket attacks and the shrapnel from artillery rounds.
“The vehicle’s protection… is fantastic,” Serhii said, with clear admiration for the equipment compared with Soviet-era fighting vehicles that many Ukrainian troops have to use.
Soliders said the Bradley infantry vehicles are good for advancing, not just defence
He said the crew of one of his Bradleys was hit by two rocket-propelled grenades but was able to continue driving and was unharmed.
Serhii, who comes from the Donetsk region, said he felt betrayed by Mr Trump’s decision to halt such crucial support.
The US president ordered the move as he attempts to put pressure on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to negotiate a ceasefire deal with Russia.
“Although I’m not a politician, it’s a betrayal for us, for the guys who are defending Ukraine,” the soldier said.
Inside a US-supplied Bradley vehicle
Asked how he felt when he heard the news about the US president’s decision, Serhii said: “The latest news cuts my heart, I can answer you that way. It cuts my heart… If politicians solve issues this way, just by halting weapons supply in one move, that’s criminal.”
He signalled it would be harder for Ukrainian troops to defend their land without the US military support – but they would still fight.
“Even without this weapon, we believe we will move forward,” he said.
“They [the Russians] have to retreat, no matter what. The guys didn’t take up arms here for nothing, and they stand together. Together, all of us, as one, will defeat this enemy.”
As for whether he had a message for Mr Trump, the soldier said: “Don’t stop military aid. Politics is politics, but the people, I believe, are the most important.
“It will be very hard for us without such equipment. This equipment is good; it allows us to show results. And we will keep showing them. We’ve shown them before and we will keep showing them. That’s how it is. Thank you.”
Fighting ‘for my motherland’
Soldier Sedoi said he is ‘tired’ of the war
Sky News watched as two crews prepared their fighting vehicles for a potential mission on Thursday evening.
Sedoi, 41, commands one of the Bradleys and operates the gun.
He said the American-supplied vehicle gives him confidence when he goes into battle – and was also likely a scary prospect for Russian troops to have to encounter.
“We make a lot of noise. Everything catches fire and burns… It’s a good vehicle,” he said.
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Will Kyiv fall without US support?
Sedoi said he did not have a reaction to the news about the halt to American military support, saying: “I don’t get involved in their politics.”
However, he signalled he did want an end to the war – even if it meant Russia keeping some of the land it has seized.
“Let it end, so people stop dying. Because a lot of people have died,” he said.
Read more:
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Recently recovered from a shrapnel wound, Sedoi said he volunteered to fight after Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale war more than three years ago because of Russia’s brutality.
“I’ve heard what they do when they enter villages, what they do with children and women… I don’t want them to go any further… That’s why I’m here.
“But, to be honest, I’m getting tired of it.”
Yet still he and his fellow soldiers battle on. Asked why he was fighting, the soldier said: “For my motherland.”
A warning by Donald Trump to Vladimir Putin to stop “pounding” Ukraine or else, appears to have fallen on deaf ears after another night of devastating Russian strikes.
The persistent pummelling of Ukrainian towns and cities also follows a decision by the US president to stop sharing American intelligence and weapons with Kyiv – a move that is directly hampering the Ukrainian military’s ability to defend their skies from the Russian onslaught.
In the deadliest attack overnight, at least 11 people were killed and 30 wounded, including five children, in the town of Dobropillia, about 15 miles from the frontline in the Donestsk region of eastern Ukraine.
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The Ukrainian police service said a Russian ballistic missile, rockets and attack drones hit eight multi-storey buildings as well as a shopping centre and dozens of cars.
Firefighters work at the site of the strike. Pic: Reuters/State Emergency Service of Ukraine
Pic: Reuters/State Emergency Service of Ukraine
“Some buildings were burnt down almost completely,” the national police of Ukraine said in a post on its Telegram social media channel.
Another three civilians were killed and seven injured in a drone attack on the Kharkiv region in the northeast of the country, according to a separate post by the interior ministry.
Just hours earlier, the US president posted a warning to the Kremlin on social media.
“Based on the fact that Russia is absolutely ‘pounding’ Ukraine on the battlefield right now, I am strongly considering large-scale banking sanctions, sanctions, and tariffs on Russia until a cease fire and FINAL SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT ON PEACE IS REACHED,” he wrote.
“To Russia and Ukraine, get to the table right now, before it is too late. Thank you!!!”
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Trump: ‘Ukraine difficult to deal with’
Kyiv will be watching closely to see whether Moscow’s continuing attacks will prompt Mr Trump to carry out his threat.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been in crisis mode ever since Mr Trump returned to office and started attacking his record on the war, falsely calling him a dictator and even claiming – again erroneously – that Ukraine was to blame for Russia’s invasion.
Sky News on the ground in Dobropillia 24hrs before strike
A Sky News team was in Dobropillia 24 hours before the attack – stopping off to grab food at a pizza restaurant that was close to the site of at least two of the incoming strikes.
The restaurant is on a road of shops, including a clothes store and a small grocery outlet.
The town, which used to be home to 28,000 residents before Russia’s full-scale war, feels far more battle-hardened than areas further away from the frontline.
Fighting has been raging for months between invading Russian forces and Ukrainian troops, just over a dozen miles away, around the city of Pokrovsk.
Despite the closeness of the war, however, many civilians, including children, still live in Dobropillia.
In the most significant blow, Washington has paused the sharing on intelligence with its Ukrainian partners, instantly making it far harder for Ukraine to have a clear picture on the movement of Russian forces and weapons, while also hampering the ability of the Ukrainian armed forces to effectively conduct targeting attacks against Russian positions.
Read more:
The most significant part of Zelenskyy’s olive branch to Trump
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A decision to stop the flow of military support to Ukraine will also have a huge impact on the country’s ability to keep defending itself.
The US has been Kyiv’s largest and most important supplier of arms, including the Patriot air defence system – the only piece of equipment in Ukraine’s arsenal that has the ability to take down ballistic missiles.
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