Moscow Blames ‘Ukrainian Saboteurs’ for Attack in Western Belgorod Region

Ukrainian saboteurs have attacked Russia’s Belgorod region, injuring three people and causing significant material damage, the region’s governor claimed on May 22. Kyiv, for its part, denies complicity in the attack, attributing it instead to “violent resistance movements” opposed to Russian President Vladimir Putin. One of Russia’s westernmost regions, Belgorod shares a roughly 540-mile-long border with Ukraine. Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of Russia’s Wagner Group, holds a Russian national flag in front of his soldiers in Bakhmut, Ukraine, in a still from video released on May 20, 2023. (Prigozhin Press Service via AP) Kremlin: Diversion From Bakhmut According to Vyacheslav Gladkov, Belgorod’s regional governor, the attack began with an artillery barrage on the village of Glotovo in Belgorod’s Grayvoron district....