The Pro-Kyiv Russian Volunteer Corps and the Legion for Freedom of Russia called on the governor of Belgorod to meet and retrieve the captured Russian soldiers.
Fighting continued in southern Russia after armed groups launched more cross-border attacks from Ukraine, with Moscow saying it was targeting “terrorists” with artillery.
The governor of the besieged Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said on Sunday that fighting had broken out again on his side of the border, and acknowledged for the first time that pro-Ukrainian forces had taken prisoners of war into Russia. during the invasions.
He said he was ready for talks to get “our men” and told armed groups he would meet with them for an exchange.
“A sabotage group came in. There is a battle [the] Novaya Tavolzhanka [border village],” Gladkov said. “I hope they all get destroyed.”
The pro-Kyiv Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion earlier called on the governor of Belgorod to meet with the fighters and get the captive soldiers.
“The only thing that prevents me from negotiating with them is that our men are in their hands, they are probably dead,” said Gladkov.
Ukraine has been aggressively attacking Russian settlements on the border recently, forcing thousands to flee to the regional hub of Belgorod.
The Russian military claimed it had repulsed a “Ukrainian terrorist sabotage group” that was trying to cross the border near the settlement.
“The enemy was hit by artillery. The enemy is scattered and retreating,” it said in a statement.
Gladkov had earlier asked residents of the border district of Shebekino to leave their homes because of the shooting.
‘Sent to the slaughterhouse’
The fighting around Novaya Tavolzhanka follows last month’s dramatic armed incursion from Ukraine that forced the Russian military to use artillery and air strikes on the homeland. The border violation was claimed by anti-Kremlin nationalists.
Earlier, nationalist groups published a video of the governor speaking. It claimed to show the two “prisoners” their captors called “simple soldiers sent by your leadership to this war”. One appears to be injured and is lying in a hospital bed.
In a video on the Freedom of Russia Telegram channel, a man who identified himself as the commander of the Russian Volunteer Corps said he would surrender the soldiers in exchange for a meeting with Governor Gladkov.
“Today until 17:00 you have the opportunity to communicate without weapons and bring home two Russian citizens, ordinary soldiers sent by you and your political leadership to kill,” said a statement posted in the video.
Three hours later, Gladkov appeared in a video message in which he agreed to meet with the group if the soldiers were still alive.
“Most likely they killed them, as hard as it is for me to say. But if they are alive, from 5-6pm – Shebekino checkpoint. I guarantee safety,” said Gladkov.
‘The future of Russia’
Ukraine has always denied responsibility for attacks on Russian soil, but presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Sunday that the situation in the border areas “must be seen as Russia’s future”.
Gladkov said on Sunday that Ukrainian forces continued to attack his region overnight after two people were killed the previous night and hundreds of children were evacuated across the border.
The attacks in the Belgorod region come as Kyiv says it is preparing a major counter-offensive against Russian forces.
In a video published on Sunday, the Ukrainian army appeared to call on soldiers to keep quiet about the plans and said there had been no warning of the start of the long-awaited attack.
