Fighting on Russian territory: what are the goals of Russian volunteers

 For the third day, things have been restless in the Russian regions bordering Ukraine. Volunteers from the units "Russian Volunteer Corps", Legion "Freedom of Russia" and "Siberian Battalion" continue raids in the Belgorod and Kursk regions of the Russian Federation. On March 14, the situation worsened. There were numerous explosions in Belgorod, and fighting was taking place in border villages. What is the real purpose of this raid and what will it lead to - Apostrophe figured out.

Belgorod salutes

On the morning of March 14, residents of Belgorod began reporting explosions in the city center on social networks and posting videos of columns of smoke rising into the sky. At the same time, an air raid warning sounded in the background.

Later, Russian volunteers from the “Freedom of Russia” legion published a message that they began to destroy BC warehouses in the village of Tetkino, Glushkovsky district, Kursk region. On the other hand, the governors of the Belgorod and Kursk regions, as well as the so-called Russian “military correspondents,” reported about battles with volunteer units.

One of the military commanders wrote that the volunteers “pursue the goal of creating ‘passages’ in the defense line for the advancement of the main forces.” They say that by destroying positions, the Ukrainian Armed Forces provide themselves with a numerical superiority in areas and reduce the level of protection of the defending forces of the Russian Armed Forces. And “by causing damage to civilian infrastructure, the enemy sows panic in the near rear,” notes the military correspondent.

“Here the so-called military correspondents are right. The raid of Russian volunteers on Russian territory sowed panic among both the local population and the authorities,” says military-political observer of the Information Resistance group Alexander Kovalenko in a commentary to Apostrophe. “In addition, this "The raid once again shows the Russians that their borders are not secure."

“The actions of volunteers in the Belgorod and Kursk regions indicate that the war has moved onto Russian territory. And this is good. We can wish success to the Russians who want to liberate their homeland from the Putin regime,” a military expert, a reserve colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, tells Apostrophe Petr Chernik: “Since hostilities have taken a serious turn, the Russian military command will now have to think about how to counter this.”

Raid objectives

According to Pyotr Chernik, the invaders will have to remove some units from the front and urgently transfer them to Belgorod and Kursk.

“Then it will be a little easier for us at the front,” Chernik said.

Alexander Kovalenko shares the same opinion.

“In order to neutralize the saboteurs, and the RDK, “Freedom of Russia” and the “Siberian Battalion” are carrying out just such a special operation, the Russian command needs to transfer resources from other directions, for example from Kupyansky,” the military observer noted.

Another goal of the raid, according to Kovalenko, is to resolve the issue of demilitarization of Russia.

“Fighters of the RDK and the “Freedom of Russia” legion are removing warehouses from the military base and military facilities located in the regions bordering Ukraine. And this is good, since we will still have to carry out the demilitarization of Russia, and here it has already begun,” the observer noted.

BNR at the start

There is also an opinion among Ukrainian experts that a conditional BNR (Belgorod People's Republic) may arise in the Belgorod region, which the Russian authorities will not be able to control. But will the resources of the volunteer corps be enough for this?

“There is, of course, no talk about the liberation of Belgorod and Kursk. We do not have the resource to keep these areas under our control. But it is quite possible to destabilize the situation for some time and cause panic,” summarized Alexander Kovalenko.

Meanwhile, hostilities on Russian territory continue. According to Russian public reports, there is panic in the city of Grayvoron, Belgorod Region, the population is trying to evacuate, and a number of enterprises in Belgorod have suspended operations.