WRAPUP 3-Russia tells fleeing border residents to stay away after incursion from Ukraine

There is panic in the Belgorod region." Moscow, which portrays its invasion of Ukraine last year as a response to a security threat from Kyiv, said the attackers were Ukrainian saboteurs, seeking to deflect attention from Russia's capture of the city of Bakhmut three days ago, after the bloodiest land battle in Europe since World War Two. "This once again confirms that Ukrainian militants are continuing their activities against our country.

Fighters who infiltrated from Ukraine were battling Russian forces on Tuesday in a border region, where authorities told fleeing residents it was not yet safe to go home.

On the second day of fighting, details of the biggest cross-border raid into Russia of the 15-month war - including the number of fighters involved, their affiliation and the extent of the clashes - could not be independently confirmed. Two anti-Kremlin groups have claimed responsibility. Russia blames Ukraine, which denies any direct role.

"The cleansing of the territory by the Ministry of Defence together with law enforcement agencies continues," Vyacheslav Gladkov, governor of the Belgorod region where the incursion occurred, said on the Telegram messaging service. "I now appeal to the residents of the Graivoron district, who ... temporarily left their homes, it is not possible to return yet," he said.

Gladkov said one elderly woman had died during the evacuation. On Monday, he said at least eight people had been wounded, several buildings damaged and many residents had left. The two groups who claimed responsibility, the Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), both say they comprise armed Russian fighters seeking to overthrow President Vladimir Putin.

"ABSOLUTELY UNPROTECTED" The Legion says it is recognised by Ukraine and its members have fought there against Russia. The RVC has claimed responsibility for previous attacks inside Russia, including a cross-border raid in the neighbouring Bryansk region in March.

"Good morning everybody, except Putin's henchmen. We have met the dawn on liberated territory, and are moving further on," the Legion said on Telegram. "Once again, the myth that the citizens of the Russian Federation are safe and the Russian Federation is strong has been destroyed," it said in a later post.

"There are no reserves in the Russian Federation to respond to military crises — all servicemen are dead, wounded or in Ukraine. The Russian Federation is absolutely unprotected. There is panic in the Belgorod region." Moscow, which portrays its invasion of Ukraine last year as a response to a security threat from Kyiv, said the attackers were Ukrainian saboteurs, seeking to deflect attention from Russia's capture of the city of Bakhmut three days ago, after the bloodiest land battle in Europe since World War Two.

"This once again confirms that Ukrainian militants are continuing their activities against our country. This requires a great deal of effort from us, and these efforts are continuing," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. Asked about reports that the attackers were ethnic Russians, he said: "They are Ukrainian fighters from Ukraine. There are many ethnic Russians living in Ukraine. But they are still Ukrainian militants."

Russian investigators said they were opening a terrorism case into the incursion. Kyiv publicly denied blame for the raid, though some of its denials were pitched with apparent irony, to mimic past Russian denials of a role in separatist movements in Ukraine.

Kyiv "has nothing to do with it", tweeted Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak. "As you know, tanks are sold at any Russian military store, and underground guerrilla groups are composed of Russian citizens." The RVC released video of a fighter with what it said was a captured armoured vehicle, putting a sticker with the group's logo over the "Z" symbol used to identify Russian forces.

Other videos posted on Russian and Ukrainian social media channels showed pictures and video of what were described as captured Russian servicemen and their identity documents. Mash, a Russian news channel on Telegram, said drones had struck the roof of the Russian FSB security service building in Belgorod city overnight, nearly 80 km (50 miles) from the district where the raid took place. It posted a picture of emergency vehicles outside the building.

Inside Ukraine, Russian forces are celebrating their first major victory in 10 months with the capture of Bakhmut, where thousands of troops died in months of fighting both sides call a meatgrinder. Kyiv says its forces have been making their own gains on the outskirts of the city to the north and south. Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said fighting in Bakhmut had decreased but claimed Kyiv still held positions on the southwestern outskirts. Independent analysts such as the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War say Russia's claim to have captured it on Saturday is probably accurate.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Ukrainian marines, positing pictures of himself giving out medals to troops at what he said was the front line near Vuhledar in the south.