A “Ukrainian sabotage group” carried out an attack in the Russian county of Belgorod, and the Russian president was informed, Russian media report.

Ukraine denies having anything to do with the case.

– Ukraine watches with interest the events in the Belgorod district of Russia and studies the situation, but has nothing to do with it, tweets adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Mykhajlo Podoljak.

According to the Kremlin, the Ukrainian sabotage group entered Russia to “distract attention” from the Battle of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.

Earlier on Monday, the governor of Belgorod said that a Ukrainian army sabotage and reconnaissance group had entered the county.

Russian soldiers are trying to eliminate the Ukrainian group, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov also said. No civilians were injured, Gladkov added.

President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Ria news agency, that the president was aware of the attacks. Russian forces are trying to “hunt and eliminate” the sabotage group, according to Peskov.

Ukraine’s military intelligence service claims Russian citizens were behind the armed action in Belgorod on Monday, according to Ukrainian media Hromadske.

Those responsible belong to two paramilitary groups, said Andrij Jusov, an intelligence spokesman. He names the groups the Russian Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps.

– I think we all can only welcome the decisive actions of the opposition-oriented citizens of Russia, who are ready for an armed struggle against the criminal regime of Vladimir Putin, says Jusov according to Hromadske.

(HAVE)