On March 12, Russian volunteers from the "Freedom of Russia" Legion, Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), and the Siberian Battalion entered Kursk and Belgorod Regions of the Russian Federation. There were shooting battles, and later the legion members showed a video of the liberated part of a village in Kursk Region.
Military expert Oleh Zhdanov told Apostrophe TV about the reaction to such actions and the main purpose of such raids.
He noted that this raid of volunteers will also end with the subsequent withdrawal from the territory of Russia, but a certain effect will be achieved:
"...it will provoke a reaction from the Russian command and force Russians to redeploy forces to these areas."
Zhdanov points out that this time the strikes were aimed at two directions "...and, apparently, the main direction was Kursk Region."
The expert believes that Russian volunteers are likely to gain a strong presence in the border areas and wait for Russian troops to arrive. After that, they will withdraw from Russian territory with fighting.
"Most likely, this situation will be hidden until the elections, and the main actions will begin later," he commented.
The main purpose of such operations is reconnaissance-in-force. Zhdanov notes that these units must enter the territory of the Russian Federation under the Russian flag in order to identify themselves as a Russian liberation movement.
He also adds that Russians are currently building defense lines on the territory of Belgorod, gathering up to 12,000-15,000 troops: "And we will see their reaction."
Instead, in Kursk Region, which was the main focus of Russian volunteers, "there are much fewer troops and few defensive structures. Therefore, the major attacks were in this direction."
Zhdanov emphasizes that the goal of such actions is to force the Russian General Staff to start moving troops back to Kursk Region.
Earlier, the RDK fighters showed a tank breaking through the Russian border and the escape of Russian soldiers.