(Reuters) – Ukraine thwarted an attempt overnight by a Russian saboteur group to cross its northeastern border in the Sumy region, the commander of the Joint Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said on Thursday.
“The saboteurs tried to cross the state border of Ukraine and intended to move further towards one of the civilian critical infrastructure facilities,” Lieutenant General Serhiy Naev wrote on the Telegram messaging app.
The eight-member group was repelled by Ukrainian fire, and there were no losses among Ukrainian troops, he said.
The group was detected by members of a territorial defence brigade, Naev said.
“Having suffered combat losses, the saboteur group retreated towards the state border,” he said.
In a video posted with his message, Naev said there had been more than 10 attempts to cross the Ukrainian border in the last two months. All had been prevented and the enemy retreated after suffering losses, he said.
Russia did not immediately comment on Naev’s Telegram post.
(Reporting by Anna Pruchnicka; Editing by Edmund Klamann and Timothy Heritage)
