Russia Accuses Ukraine Of Shelling Its Bryansk Region, Kyiv Rejects Claim

By RFE/RL's Russian Service

Authorities in Russia's Bryansk region bordering Ukraine have accused Kyiv of shelling the Russian town of Klimovo and allegedly causing casualties, while the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (RNBO) rejected the accusations, calling them "an attempt to ignite anti-Ukraine hysteria in Russia."

The Bryansk region's governor, Aleksandr Bogomaz, said on April 14 that two buildings were damaged in the attack, which he said was conducted by the armed forces of Ukraine.

Medical personnel at Klimovo's central hospital told the Russian news agency TASS that seven people, including a pregnant woman and a child, were wounded.

Russia's Investigative Committee said the attack was conducted by two Ukrainian military helicopters, adding that it has launched a criminal case into the attack.

A video purportedly taken in Klimovo after the attack circulated on the Internet showing a burning house.

It is not fully clear where and when the video was taken.

Klimovo is located about 10 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.

Authorities in another Russian region, Belgorod, said on April 14 that Ukrainian armed forces shelled the Russian village of Spodorashino. No casualties were reported.

Also on April 14, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said Ukrainian armed forces opened fire at the Novyye Yurovichi border checkpoint in the Bryansk region. No casualties were reported there either.

Meanwhile, in its April 14 statement, the RNBO dscribed the Russian claims as the "implementation of plans to organize terrorist acts" by Russia on Russian territory "to incite anti-Ukraine hysteria in the Russian Federation."

The RNBO statement said that its Center for Countermeasures against Disinformation had previously warned about the "enemy's plans to organize a series of terrorist acts in Russia's territories close to the border to consolidate Russians against Ukrainians."

The RNBO's statement added that, a day earlier, authorities in Kursk, another Russian region bordering Ukraine, also claimed that Ukrainian forces attacked a border guard unit in Russia's Korenev district.

On April 13, the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukraine of shelling Russian territories, warning that, if the attacks continue, Moscow will have to strike Ukraine's "decision-making centers," including Kyiv.

Russia launched its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine on February 24. After weeks of resistance by Ukrainian armed forces, Russia withdrew its forces from Ukraine’s northern territories bordering with Bryansk and other regions of Russia.

With reporting by RIA Novosti and TASS