Today's events in Bryansk Region are an internal confrontation between Russian citizens, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, Andriy Yusov, told Hromadske and Suspilne.
He suggested that this internal conflict could be a sign that the Russians are beginning to "realize something" and take "specific measures."
"Today, Russia is an entity within which there are multiple interethnic, interethnic, interreligious, socio-political and other conflicts. Today the Russian Volunteer Corps has issued a public statement. These are people fighting with arms against the Putin regime and those who support it... Perhaps Russians are beginning to wake up, realize something and take some specific measures," he said.
In a commentary to Suspilne, he reiterated this idea: "Indeed, there are, in particular, things like this, which indicates a confrontation within the Russian Federation itself between citizens of the Russian Federation itself."
Yusov emphasized that it is necessary to double-check the Russian information about the dead or injured.
The RVC mentioned by Yusov is the so-called Russian Volunteer Corps, a military unit of the International Territorial Defenсe Legion created in August 2022 and composed of right-wing Russian volunteers. Its commander is Denis Nikitin.
"The Russian Volunteer Corps crossed the state border of the Russian Federation. We do not fight civilians, we do not kill unarmed people. It's time for ordinary Russian citizens to realize that they are not slaves. Start a revolt," said one of the men in the video, who can be identified as commander Denis Nikitin.
Denis Nikitin is a Russian citizen who moved to Ukraine before the full-scale invasion. He is known in the far-right milieu. He was involved in the "around soccer movement", in Germany, he was suspected of being involved in a mass fight between soccer fans. Nikitin has also organised MMA tournaments, particularly in Kyiv. Repeatedly in public space, he has been portrayed precisely as a neo-Nazi. In an interview with Radio Liberty, Nikitin said that he organised mixed martial arts tournaments in a "nationalist environment". The German authorities, where he lived for some time, recognised him as threatening democratic values.
Asked whether there were any guarantees that he and other members of the Russian Volunteer Corps were not Russian special agents, Nikitin said that "no one can give any guarantees, of course. If everything we do, if the risk we and our families take is not sufficient proof that we are doing it sincerely, we are certainly powerless here."
Two days ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the FSB, which is responsible for anti-terrorist activities under Russian law, to "put a barrier" against saboteurs on the border with Ukraine.
Today, the Russians claimed that a group of "Ukrainian saboteurs" allegedly entered Bryansk Region, where they allegedly opened fire on people and took hostages. The hostage-taking was later denied by the Russians themselves, but they continue to claim that there had been shooting.
