Separately, the ministry said that one Tochka-U ballistic missile, with a range of about 70 kilometers (40 miles), and eight Vampire missiles, which are fired from trucks and have a range of about 20 kilometers (12 miles), were shot down over Belgorod.Russian border defenses are also reportedly being tested, though it was impossible to independently verify any side’s battlefield reports.Fighters from Ukraine made an attempt to cross into the town of Tetkino, which lies right on the border, the governor of Russia’s Kursk region, Roman Starovoit, said Tuesday.”There was an attempt by a sabotage and reconnaissance group to break through. There was a shooting battle, but there was no breakthrough,” he said in a video message on Telegram.The Russian Defense Ministry also said four attacks by what it called Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups was driven back in Tetkino.Meanwhile, soldiers who Kyiv officials are Russian volunteers fighting for Ukraine also claimed to have crossed the border into Russia.Soldiers from the Freedom of Russia Legion, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Siberian Battalion released statements and videos on social media claiming to show them on Russian territory. They said they wanted “a Russia liberated from Putin’s dictatorship.”The authenticity of the video couldn’t be independently verified.Russia’s Defense Ministry gave its own version of events, saying Ukrainian fighters made at least four attempts on Tuesday to cross into Russia’s Belgorod region, but that all attacks were repelled by warplanes, artillery and missiles.



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