Ukraine’s military intelligence service blamed an armed operation in Russia’s Belgorod region on Monday on “opposition-minded Russian citizens” from two paramilitary groups, Ukrainian media outlet Hromadske said. To shed some more light on the latest developments in Ukraine, we were joined by Dr. Michael Mackay, a political scientist.

Ukraine denies any involvement in armed action in Russian Belgorod

A senior aide to the Ukrainian President said Kyiv had nothing to do with an armed operation in Russia’s Belgorod region on Monday.

see more

As our guest pointed out, the guerilla soldiers involved in the Belgorod events are likely veterans of Russia’s armed forces who were previously fighting in the International Legion in Ukraine, showing their opposition to Putin’s regime.

“They are ethnic Russians, they speak perfect Russian and they are very familiar with the areas in which they are operating,” Mackay said.

As he pointed out, the soldiers were not able to fully engage in the fight against the Kremlin, explaining that was why they decided to form a separate group.