Pro-Ukraine Insurgents Claim Russian Village, Vow to 'March on Moscow'

Ukraine-aligned rebel Russian units fighting their way across the shared border aim to "march on Moscow," one volunteer has told Newsweek from close to the shifting front line.

Alexei Baranovsky, a volunteer of the Freedom of Russia Legion who goes by the call sign "Lutik," said Tuesday's operation has already led to the capture of a Russian village close to the Ukraine border.

"I can confirm that a special liberating operation was launched today, with united forces of Ukraine's Russian volunteer units crossing the border together," Baranovsky said. "As we speak, clashes are ongoing near the borders with Belgorod and Kursk oblasts, with our groups currently holding the initiative."

Cross-border raids are not a new development in the war. Russian rebels staged several such operations in 2023, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents in border areas and prompting a multiweek battle with Russian forces before withdrawing back into Ukraine.

This week, the Russian volunteer units have claimed the capture of the village of Tyotkino in the Kursk region, less than 3 miles from the border with Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's forces, Baranovsky said, "did not expect these breakthroughs in two separate regions simultaneously, so let's see how this situation unfolds."

The ultimate goal of the rebels, he said, is "the ensuing liberation of Russia from Putin. We may not be able to pull it off now, but that is our overarching mission."

The Freedom of Russia Legion, the Siberian Battalion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) are the Ukraine-aligned military units taking part in the incursion. On Tuesday, fighters released videos of the operation that show troops crossing into Russia before sunrise and riding battle tanks and other armored vehicles.

"While I cannot disclose the numbers of participants, I will say that we have more than enough people to achieve the highest military objectives," Baranovsky said, speaking early on Tuesday.

"I've just now arrived from the conflict zone, where I was helping to resupply our forces. While I don't participate in the action directly, I am what you'd call the second tier of attack," he said.

Newsweek has contacted the Russian Defense Ministry by email to request comment.

Baranovsky said the nascent dual-pronged operation "is our most ambitious operation to date, with all of the groups—the Freedom of Russia Legion, the RDK, the Siberian Battalion—having grown in terms of quantity and quality in recent months. For the latter, this is the first such [incursion] into Russia."

He went on: "This marks a new milestone for the resistance movement, and in the coming months we will continue to set more complex goals for our missions. Hopefully, one day we will reach the main one—the destruction of Putin and his regime."

Baranovsky said Russian border guard units "took the main hit" of Tuesday's attack.

"Along with them, Russia has deployed some reserves from the regular army," he continued. "They are even holding some defensive positions along the border. Often, that means there is a defensive line on paper, but in reality there's no one there."

"Of course, they try to learn and draw conclusions from previous attacks. They've fortified the Belgorod border quite significantly," he added. "That's where they were expecting us to hit again. Nevertheless, we have been able to find weakness in both Belgorod and the Kursk oblast too."