Infiltration attempt from Ukraine foiled, 70 attackers killed; Russia’s big claim in the midst of war

Russia claimed on Tuesday that its troops had repelled an attack by Ukraine from across the border. Officials said more than 70 attackers were killed in the fighting that lasted 24 hours. The attack, which began on Monday from across the border into Russian territory, could not be independently confirmed, nor could it be said who was behind the attack or what its purpose was. The spread of misinformation has also been a weapon in the 15-month-long Russia-Ukraine war.

Moscow alleged that the attack was carried out by subversive elements of the Ukrainian army. At the same time, Ukraine said that the incident was carried out by Russian people dissatisfied with the Kremlin. The fighting took place in the Belgorod region, about 80 kilometers north of the city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov claimed that the armed attackers were repelled with the help of local units of the Russian army, airstrikes and artillery. He said action was taken against the attackers till they were completely eliminated.

The battle is not over yet in Bakhmut

Meanwhile, Ukrainian army officials said the fighting in Bakhmut was not over yet. Russia claimed that it had captured Bakhmut. At the same time, Defense Minister Margarita Robles said on Tuesday that Spain cannot provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine. He said he did not have such aircraft, but was committed to supporting Kiev. “We are supporting Ukraine, we will continue to support Ukraine, because we think we have to be united, but Spain doesn’t have the F-16 at the moment,” Robles said ahead of a meeting of EU defense ministers. ‘

Robles said Spain has trained more than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers and several doctors. Madrid has no resources to train Ukrainian pilots to use the F-16 fighter jets. Earlier in the day, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said F-16 training programs had already started in several European countries. The NATO alliance recently pledged to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets. The possible transfer of F-16s to Ukraine by Russian Ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, raised questions about NATO’s involvement in the conflict.