Pro-Ukraine group launches militant invasion into homeland

A group calling itself The Liberty of Russia Legion claimed to expel Russian forces from a village on Tuesday on Russia’s side of its border with Ukraine in the southern Kursk Oblast region. The group, which claims to be composed of Russians, posted a video to social media saying the village was “fully under the control of the Russian liberation forces.” It said Moscow’s forces are “leaving behind positions and abandoning heavy equipment.” Russia’s Ministry of Defense and Federal Security Service alleged Ukrainian sympathizers were fought off and suffered heavy casualties. A ministry statement claimed “over 100 enemy personnel, six tanks, a Caesar self-propelled gun,” and 20 armored combat vehicles” were destroyed by Russian forces. A Russian Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane also crashed on Tuesday, reportedly killing all 15 people on board. The cause of the crash wasn’t immediately clear.

What have Ukranian forces been up to? Ukraine’s Armed Forces wrote on Tuesday in a social media post that it had recorded 78 combat clashes in one day while its troops repelled numerous Russian attacks. Defense Forces Aviation struck at nine areas of “concentration, weapons, and enemy military equipment,” it said. The conflicts occur as Russia’s presidential election kicks off on Friday, with incumbent candidate Vladimir Putin projected to win a fifth term.

Dig deeper: Read William Fleeson’s report in WORLD Magazine on how Ukrainian Christians share the gospel during the war.