The investigative committee of the Russian Federation claims that Ukrainian helicopters have once again entered Russian airspace and performed an attack.
“Using two combat helicopters, armed with heavy offensive weaponry, personnel of the Ukrainian Armed Forces illegally intruded into the airspace of the Russian Federation. Flying at low altitude, intentionally, they conducted no less than six airstrikes on civilian houses in the urban-type settlement of Klimovo, in the Klimov district, Bryansk Oblast,” Russian news agency Ria Novosti reported, quoting a statement by the Investigative Committee.
According to the report, six houses on the Zarechnaya and Lenina streets were damaged, and seven civilians were injured.
Ukrainian armed forces have not confirmed the attack.
According to satellite photos, the vicinity of Klimovo was one of the staging grounds before the Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The settlement itself is approximately 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
If confirmed, this is the second reported Ukrainian helicopter attack within Russian airspace. On April 1, 2022, Russian officials said that an oil depot near Belgorod was attacked by Ukrainian helicopters.
UPDATE 04-15-2022, 17:25 (UTC +3): On April 15, 2022, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) posted a statement saying that the attack on Klimovo was staged by the Russian armed forces. The SBU also published a short audio recording, claimed to be an intercepted conversation between a Russian soldier and his wife. In the conversation, a person can be heard saying that he was told, presumably by his superiors, that an attack is being performed on Klimovo to “provoke the Khokhly [a derogatory term for Ukrainians – ed. note]”
