Chaos in Russia after anti-Putin troops enter Belgorod who want to “reach Red Square”

That served Putin himself to declare a terrorist alertaccusing the United States and Ukraine of being behind the attack (two alleged shootings in two villages in the area, both unconfirmed) and order an escalation of hostilities against civilians on Ukrainian territory. Whether it was a false flag attack, that is, an operation conceived by the Kremlin itself, or simply Russian security allowed the insurgents They will carry out their action without doing too much to avoid it in order to later adopt the role of victim, it is something impossible to know.

However, the passing of the hours has given more substance to what happened today in Belgorod. Of course, the detail of crossing a border that is supposed to be tightly protected by raising the barrier without opposition from anyone. is inherently suspicious. However, both the claim of authorship -to the aforementioned Volunteer Corps must be added the Free Russian Legionan established and well-known group within the opposition to Putin – and the extent of their attack have caused alarm among the population and the Russian media.

From what we know, the troops of both guerrillas, which may have numbered around a few hundred soldiers, have entered up to 40 square kilometers on Russian territory, something unthinkable in a war in which every square kilometer costs days of suffering and hundreds of casualties. They have taken control of the towns of Kozinka and Glokovo and they have forced the governor of Belgorod to request immediate help from Moscow and to implement the anti-terrorism law throughout the region.

“Liberate Russia to Red Square

According to the Russian authorities, the shelling of Zamostye and Graivoron has caused at least six injured, in addition to damage to three residential buildings and the demolition of an unmanned helicopter (UAV), although there are media that assure that it was an MI-8. The situation seems far from being controlled and the arrival of members of the 74th Motorized Brigade to face the rebels. Any diversion of troops and resources from the front is enormously helpful to Ukraine in its fight in Donbas, although Kiev has stated – as it did in the Bryansk episode – that they have nothing to do with this matter.

[Rusia impone el régimen antiterrorista en Bélgorod por el “sabotaje de Ucrania” que Kiev niega]

The consequences of the action should not go beyond the punctual dispersal of means to deal with an unexpected crisis. Now, if it really is not a false flag operation or, at least, a “tolerated” operation to accuse Ukraine and raise the level of retaliation, the ridicule for Russia is enormous. Nobody understands anything about what has happened or how it is possible that Russian territory is so easily attackable right from the border with a country with which it is at war.

The images of the soldiers of the Legion of Free Russia patrolling the streets of the villages “liberated” are a mockery and a shame for the Kremlin. Likewise, those of members of the Volunteer Corps patrolling Russian tanks confiscated along the way. The guerrillas, in a video posted on social networks, affirm that their intention is to continue advancing, give Russian citizens the possibility of living in a different country that Putin has built over the years and “get to Red Square” in their fight. In fact, in another video, they showed images of blue and white balloons (the colors of these paramilitary groups) flying over what they say is Moscow.

chaos in reaction

Precisely in Moscow, the news has been received mutely, unlike what happened in March. That may be one more sign that they did not expect it and they don’t know how to react. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in statements collected by the agency Reuters qthat President Putin had been informed and that everything possible was being done to “drive out the saboteurs” of Russian territory. It is undoubtedly shocking that the Kremlin itself dodges the word “terrorist”to basically refer to the same people responsible for the previous incursion.

The military action comes 24 hours after the announcement of Bakhmut’s supposed conquest by the Wagner Group and somehow diverts media and propaganda attention. The sensation of chaos that surrounds the Russian army only increases with actions of this type, as well as the insecurity among the citizens of a territory that has been facing the abyss of war since 2014, but with the sensation of being protected by forces armed forces that have proven erratic over the last fifteen months.

[La conquista ‘simbólica’ de Bakhmut: así condicionará el futuro de la guerra y la contraofensiva ucraniana]

It remains to be seen if this type of action and the panic they cause in the civilian population serve to question the “special military operation” or, on the contrary, confirm all the apocalyptic paranoias that the Kremlin has been selling since the beginning of the conflict. This Sunday, Putin personally congratulated Eugeni Prigozhin and the Wagner Group for the aforementioned capture of Bakhmut, something that, without a doubt, must have stung the defense ministry, which had been trying to appropriate the final photo for months. In summary, there are many intrigues moving at the same time in Moscow and a lot of accumulated discontent. Winning a war like this seems an impossible task. Staying in power, every day more difficult.