Shootout on the border of Ukraine and Russia: How events are developing
The Ukrainian border service has already stated that it has no information about the shootout and the attempt to break through the border with the Russian Federation in the Sumy region, about which The Russian FSB previously reported.
Ukrainian border guards said that they received information about the incident, which occurred at night, from their Russian colleagues only at 11 am. For their part, the Ukrainians did not record any shootings. Now they are checking the area adjacent to the cordon, reports the official website.
Russian military correspondent Alexander Sladkov believes that the shootout could have been solely a provocation by the Ukrainian side. “The spies will pass by anyway. Smugglers are never fools, why do they need weapons, and they don’t get caught. Saboteurs? Yes, just like spies, they could come in legally. I see only one meaning, in provocation,” comments Sladkov.
Political scientist Vladimir Kornilov recalls that in August Vladimir Zelensky introduced a new leader to the staff of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine - Colonel Kirill Budanov. Budanov “exposed” to organizing sabotage of Ukrainian intelligence officers in Crimea in the summer of 2016.
“Is this the result of Zelensky’s recent appointments, when he placed a saboteur at the head of military intelligence?” – Kornilov comments on today’s incident at the border.
“Unfortunately, my maxim is being realized: “As you know, seven years without boilers turns an ordinary Great Ukrainian into an invincible warrior, a “cotton wool” fighter,” argues another military correspondent Dmitry Steshin.
Whoever the survivors of the shootout are, the Ukrainian authorities will try to put this story on hold. Kiev security expert Sergei Shabovta stated this in a comment to a PolitNavigator correspondent.
“A few days ago, the Ukrainian media wrote that three Russians tried to bring smuggled goods into the territory, and when border guards discovered them, they abandoned everything and disappeared into Russian territory. There were no arrests, but some boxes of perfumes were shown to the media, which, according to border guards, were seized from the violators. It is obvious that in such situations Ukraine shows only those facts that are beneficial to it in terms of propaganda - that, supposedly, there are infiltration attempts on the Russian side, etc.
Today’s incident is clearly not in favor of Ukraine, which, in theory, should and could have stopped such a transition on its own. It is obvious that the Ukrainian side has no desire to “stir up” such an informational occasion, where the attempt to cross was stopped by Russian border guards, and not Ukrainian ones.
It is clear that the Ukrainian side is not interested in catching violators who have fled to the territory of Ukraine.
The problem with border control is that formally the border troops are subordinate to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but all issues related to illegal border crossings relate primarily to the area of possible threats to the state and counterintelligence activities. They are supervised by the SBU, and they are extremely reluctant to share information on this or that matter,” said Sergei Shabovta.
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