Russia invades Russia: Russian nationals with "Liberty of Russia Legion" and "Russian Volunteer Corps" militias take over portions of Belgorod region.
(www.reuters.com)https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/governor-russias-belgorod-says-ukrainian-sabotage-group-crossed-border-2023-05-22/Lots of conflicting reports, not much good footage. This has been developing over the last 24 hours or so.
Belgorod region is right on the border to Ukraine, and contains central town by the same name.
Supposedly they crossed in from Ukraine, quickly overran the meager defenses and border stations, took control of armored vehicles, and proceeded to "liberate" portions of the region. Explosions were reported in the town of Belgorod as well. Ukraine claims no knowledge or involvement. Russia calls them Ukrainian saboteurs and terrorists. They appear to all be Russian citizens, not Ukrainians. No reliable info on their numbers.
Rumors have been floating around of declaring an independent Belgorod People's Republic and holding referendums shortly. Seems unlikely, given the small scale of the operation at the moment.
Russia has been holding emergency meetings. Shelling has been reported in the region. A lone helicopter was seen flying over the city, but all it did was drop decoy flares and leave.
A couple of short clips with no further context:
https://pomf2.lain.la/f/jykv40rn.mp4https://pomf2.lain.la/f/vwemk1jr.mp4Russian source for all the RU bots here:
https://www.rt.com/russia/576701-ukraine-raid-belgorod-peskov/