FACTBOX-Rebel groups attacking Russia from Ukraine

Three armed groups, the Freedom of Russia legion, Russian Volunteer Corps and Siberian Battalion, launched a cross-border assault from Ukraine into Russia this week. Kyiv denies any role and says the attackers are Russian, but Moscow calls them Ukrainian "terrorist formations".

Three armed groups, the Freedom of Russia legion, Russian Volunteer Corps and Siberian Battalion, launched a cross-border assault from Ukraine into Russia this week.

Kyiv denies any role and says the attackers are Russian, but Moscow calls them Ukrainian "terrorist formations". It is unclear how the Ukraine-based groups got hold of advanced weaponry, tanks and armoured vehicles to raid at least two Russian regions. Here is what we know about the groups.

FREEDOM OF RUSSIA LEGION The Freedom of Russia Legion says it was formed in spring 2022 "out of the wish of Russians to fight together with the Ukrainian people against Putin's armed gang".

The group says it is "officially recognised" by the Ukrainian armed force. It previously claimed responsibility for attacking Russia's Belgorod region in May 2023 and said that it had been fighting in eastern Ukraine. On Tuesday, the legion posted a video which it said showed its fighters going into Russia on tanks.

The group said it had participated in an attack on the village of Tyotkino in Russia's Kursk region. It posted a video of what it said was a Russian armoured vehicle being destroyed. On Ukrainian television, the legion's spokesperson linked the attack to Russia's upcoming presidential election this weekend. Incumbent President Vladimir Putin is certain to win a fifth term in a process expected to be neither free nor fair. SIBERIA BATTALION

The Siberian Battalion was founded last autumn to entice members of Russia's indigenous peoples frustrated at racism in Russia to fight against Putin's government. When Reuters spoke to some of the battalion's recruits last October, they cited anger at what they cast as Russia's destruction of indigenous cultures and disproportionate levels of mobilisation of their people to fight in Ukraine. According to the battalion's Telegram channel, it has been conducting attacks in Belgorod, in particular in the village of Gorkhovsky. Footage posted by the unit appeared to show a drone dropping a munition on an armoured vehicle there.

RUSSIAN VOLUNTEER CORPS The RVC was founded by Denis Kapustin, a far-right Russian national, in August 2022 and comprises of Russians who have been fighting for Ukraine against their own country.

On its website, the organisation says it is not part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and asks visitors for donations. "As a volunteer unit, we do not have regular government support and cover our needs through personal and volunteer resources," its website says.

The U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League has described Kapustin as "a Russian neo-Nazi who lived in Germany for many years". "I have my set of views, it's a patriotic set of views, it's a traditionalist set of views, it's a right-wing set of views," Kapustin has previously said.

"You know, you'll never find me waving a flag with a swastika, you'll never find me raising my hand in a Hitler sign."

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