Jon Jackson
Pro-Kyiv Russian insurgents on Monday said their recent operations in Russia's border regions have resulted in heavy casualties for Moscow's military, casting a shadow over President Vladimir Putin's election victory.
The Kremlin announced on Sunday that Putin won nearly 88 percent of the vote in Russia's presidential election, but the results have widely been called rigged by Western observers.
Meanwhile, the separatist groups Freedom of Russia Legion (LSR) and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) have continued operations in the Belgorod and Kursk regions. According to the groups, they've been responsible for more than 1,400 Russian military casualties since they began their incursion a week ago.
Newsweek could not verify the casualty claims made by the separatist groups and contacted the Russian Ministry of Defense via email on Monday for comment.
In the main image, a fighter of the Russian Volunteer Corps sits on a seized personnel carrier near the Russian border in northern Ukraine on May 24, 2023. The small image shows Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking during a press conference at his campaign headquarters on March 18, 2024, in Moscow. Units of the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion said they have been responsible for a high amount of Russian military casualties since they began operations in Russia’s border regions last week.
The insurgent groups' claims deal a blow to Putin's image a day after he boasted during his victory speech of his military having the advantage in the Ukraine war, which began on February 24, 2022.
"The initiative belongs entirely to the Russian armed forces. In some areas, our guys are just mowing them—the enemy—down," Putin said, without addressing attacks in the border regions.
Despite Putin's statements about his military might, his forces have struggled to contain attacks in the Russian border regions of Belgorod and Kursk.
Last Tuesday, the LSR and RDK announced on Telegram that they were "on the attack" when they arrived in Belgorod and Kursk in armored vehicles. Reportedly backed by mortar and artillery fire, the fighters later claimed they had seized control of a village in Kursk.
By Monday, according to a new message from the groups on Telegram, they had killed 613 Russian military personnel while injuring 829 more. They also said 27 Russian soldiers were captured.
"In just a few days of conducting a limited military operation against Putin's troops, our enemy has suffered significant losses in manpower and equipment," they wrote online, according to a translation by the Kyiv Post.
In addition to the 1,442 human casualties, the pro-Kyiv units claimed they have taken out a large amount of Russian equipment. According to their statement, they destroyed seven tanks, six howitzers, one BM-21 "Grad" Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), 20 infantry fighting vehicles and 57 units of automotive equipment, among other items.
However, the militias said the biggest loss was the blow to Putin's reputation.
"The greatest damage was caused to Putin's image as a figure who can supposedly keep the situation in the country under control," the LSR and RDK said on Telegram, per the Kyiv Post.
"Russian cities are burning, Putin's war machine has been reduced to ashes, Kremlin artillery is wiping out one Russian village after another.
"And the most important thing is that Putin devours the lives of people—soldiers and civilians—solely in the name of maintaining his power."
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