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May 23, 2023

Anti-Putin Militias Launch Cross-Border Raid on Russia's Belgorod from Ukraine
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Russia's war in Ukraine spilled back into Russian territory Monday as
self-described anti-Kremlin Russian militias launched cross-border raids
into the Belgorod region of southwestern Russia. Groups calling
themselves the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion
claimed to have captured the Russian border town of Kozinka and several
others. This is an unnamed fighter with the group in a video released
Monday.

Russian fighter: "We are Russians, just like you. We are people, just
like you. We want our children to grow up in peace and be free people,
so that they can travel, study and just be happy in a free country. But
this has no place in today's Putin's Russia, rotten from corruption,
lies, censorship, restrictions on freedoms, repressions."

In a statement, Russian officials said they'd opened a terrorism
investigation against anti-Kremlin militia fighters in Belgorod.


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