Foreign fighters killed in Ukrainian incursion attempt – FSB

Moscow claims to have eliminated four Western mercenaries who tried to break into Russia’s Bryansk Region

A Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group unsuccessfully tried to break through the Russian border in Bryansk Region on Sunday, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has said, noting that several of Kiev’s fighters taking part in the attack were foreign mercenaries.

In a statement released on Monday, the FSB announced that Bryansk Region’s border patrol and local armed forces had killed four Ukrainian troops after encountering them trying to break into Russian territory in Klimovsk district. The rest of the invading group were later targeted with artillery strikes and also suffered unspecified casualties, according to the report.

The fallen Ukrainian fighters were found to be equipped with foreign weapons and equipment, as well as personal items indicating that they belonged to “third countries,” such as a Canadian flag, a Polish prayer book, and a notepad with notes on tactics in English.

Additionally, one of the would-be invaders also reportedly had tattoos of the 75th Ranger Regiment - a special forces airborne reconnaissance regiment of the US Army. The elite group is said to specialize in reconnaissance, sabotage and diversion behind enemy lines, capturing and holding airfields, as well as destroying strategically important enemy facilities and capturing or eliminating high-ranking officials.

The regiment, also known as the Army Rangers, is said to be capable of deploying one battalion of fighters within eighteen hours of alert notification and is regarded as one of the US military’s most extensively used units.

Previously the attack was reported by the Mash Telegram channel, which claimed that the Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group consisted of up to 30 foreign fighters, which included Polish, Swedish, Venezuelan and British nationals. The group was said to have been communicating with each other in English.

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Bryansk Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz also reported on the attempted incursion via his official Telegram channel on Sunday, noting that it had been repelled by Russian forces and that the situation in Klimovsk district was “stable” and under control.

At the same time, Bogomaz reported a number of attempted drone attacks on the region following the incursion, noting that all of the UAVs have been eliminated and that no casualties or destruction on the ground has been reported.

Bryansk Region, which borders Belarus to the west and Ukraine’s Chernigov and Sumy regions to the south, has been a frequent target of drone attacks since the start of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev.

Last week, Russian air defenses destroyed more than 100 of the Ukrainian UAVs over the region as well as neighboring Kursk, Oryol and Belgorod Regions, and Lipetsk Region, located further to the east.