Three pro-Ukraine Russian paramilitary groups have claimed to have crossed into Russian territory and engaged in combat with government troops. 

The groups – the Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL), Siberian Battalion (SB) and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) – released videos on March 12 purportedly showing their fighters in Russia's Belgorod and Kursk regions.

These are just the latest in a series of cross-border raids by pro-Ukrainian groups made up of Russian fighters who have opted to side with Kyiv in the Russo-Ukrainian war. 

According to the FRL, writing on Telegram, the village of Tetkino in the Kursk Region is now “completely under the control of Russian liberation forces.” At the same time, reports emerged that fighters reportedly took control of Lozova Rudka, a town in Russia's Belgorod Oblast.

“Putin's army quickly leaves the village, leaving positions behind and abandoning heavy equipment,” FRL’s post said.

The FRL is predominantly made up of far-right, anti-Putin, Russian nationalists. Its spokesperson,  who uses "Caesar" as a nom de guerre, was a former member of the ultranationalist and neo-Nazi Russian Imperial Movement. In 2023, the same group launched cross-border raids into the Belgorod region of Russia.

The FRL appear to have the support of SB, a relatively unknown militia force. Writing on Telegram, the SB claimed they were “bringing freedom and justice to our Russian land.”

“Ballots and polling stations in this case are fiction. You can really change your life for the better only with weapons in your hands,” a post on the group’s channel said. “Anyone who does not accept a life of poverty under tyranny must make the right choice.”

In response to the claims, Russia's defence ministry stated that their attempts were thwarted.

"The enemy was hit by air, missile and artillery strikes. The Kyiv regime’s terrorist formations were pushed back by active operations of units from the Western Military District’s border protection forces, suffering heavy losses. No violations of the state border were allowed," the official statement said.

Ukraine's military denied involvement in the cross-border raids, asserting that the paramilitary groups are independent organisations of Russian nationals.