US officials have very belatedly confirmed that the dozens of gunmen who mounted a cross-border attack on Russia's Belgorod from Ukraine on May 22 were using US and other NATO equipment, despite Washington's long-running warnings for Kiev not to allow this to happen.
At least four US-produced MRAPs (Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles) were used in the attack, as well as anti-tank weaponry supplied from NATO countries, US officials have told The Washington Post. Three of the MRAPs had been provided directly by the US to Ukrainian national forces while one was given by Poland.
Two militia groups of anti-Kremlin Russians with links to neo-Nazis had claimed credit for the attack, and weren't shy about showing off their US and NATO military hardware.
The US sourcing of the equipment was obvious at the time given the abundance of videos circulating online and even being put out by the very fighters conducting the raids. Russian military video of destroyed equipment also added to the evidence.
At this point, the groups have apparently conducted multiple cross-border raids (most coming in the last two weeks), and their Nazi ties are so well-known and established that Western mainstream press reports can't hide it even as the same media outlets seem to be positively celebrating the Belgorod attack itself--
The Russian Volunteer Corps, or RVC, says it’s made up of Russians fighting on Ukraine’s side and against Putin's government. The group made headlines in March when it claimed to be behind a smaller raid in the Bryansk region.
Its commander, Denis Kapustin, who also goes by the last name of Nikitin, is a white nationalist and ex-soccer hooligan who shares neo-Nazi views.
On the very day after the May 22nd attack, when asked about the American military hardware used by the attackers during a daily briefing, State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller didn't flat-out deny the allegations, but merely said the US administration is "skeptical, at this time, of the veracity" of the reports of US-provided weapons used to strike Russia in Belgorod.
"We don’t have perfect clarity of the information, we’re looking at the same fuzzy images [on social media] … at this time we’re skeptical of their veracity," Milller said.
Russia Says It Put Down Major Ukrainian Offensive Hours After It Began
TYLER DURDEN
Did Ukraine forces just attempt to kick off their much anticipated major counteroffensive, only to have it put down immediately after it began?
That's what the Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) suggested early Monday in announcing that Ukraine began a "large-scale offensive" in mounting attacks along five sections of the frontlines in the eastern Donbas region. But Russia said it thwarted the major attack and that some 250 Ukrainian troops were killed, which included Ukraine sending six mechanized and two tank battalions to Russian-controlled southern Donetsk.
"On the morning of June 4, the enemy launched a large-scale offensive in five sectors of the front in the South Donetsk direction," the MoD statement began. "The enemy has failed to reach its goals and was unsuccessful."
It added that in total the attacking forces lost six tanks, three infantry vehicles, and 21 armored vehicles in what would mark a significant defeat if confirmed. "The enemy’s goal was to breach our defenses in what they assumed was the most vulnerable section of the frontline," the Russian military statement continued.
"During the day, the occupiers made 23 attacks, but all of them were repulsed by units of the defense forces," the MoD continued, in reference to attacks also along front lines of Luhansk, Zaporizhia and Kherson.
The ministry further specified that Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov "was at one of the forward command posts" at the time of the thwarted attacks.
While Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky just days ago said that his forces stand 'ready' to launch a counteroffensive, he made not mention of the alleged assault Sunday night when he gave his nightly video address.
BBC has remained very skeptical of the Russian military narrative, and yet Kiev has admitted some degree of "offensive actions" Sunday into Monday:
Given the vague response from the Ukrainian side in the face of significant Russian claims which are currently grabbing world headlines, this for many observers is going to give credence to the Kremlin statements.
Reuters in its Monday reporting noted the following:
Ukrainian Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov published a cryptic message on Twitter on Sunday, quoting Depeche Mode's track "Enjoy the Silence".
As we detailed earlier, in recent days Ukrainian officials have been openly taunting Russia ahead of the offensive.
If the Russian MoD statements prove true, this marks disaster for the Ukrainian military, given a defeat at the very start of the counteroffensive would likely sap morale and momentum, given also already there have been widespread reports that inexperienced and untrained Ukrainians are being sent to the frontlines in droves amid mounting heavy casualties.
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