Russia sets up defences within its own borders amid fears that Ukrainian could launch its own invasion

7 December 2022, 13:28

Russia has set up defences within its own borders amid fears that Ukraine could launch a counter-invasion, as the war continues to go against Putin's army.

The army is digging trenches along the north-eastern border of Ukraine, in the Belgorod region, the British government has has said.

It comes after military facilities deep within Russia's borders were shelled recently, which Moscow blamed on Ukraine. Kyiv denied the claims.

A British government spokesman said: 'Russia has recently started extending defensive positions along its international border with Ukraine, and deep inside its Belgorod region. 

"On December 6 the governor of Belgorod announced he was establishing local ''self-defence units''.

"Trench digging has been reported in Belgorod since at least April 2022, but the new constructions are probably more elaborate systems, designed to rebuff mechanised assault.

"There is a realistic possibility that the Russian authorities are promoting defensive preparations within internationally recognised Russian territory to burnish patriotic feeling.

"However, it probably illustrates some Russia decision-makers' genuine (but false) belief that there is a credible threat of invasion by Ukrainian forces.

"Paucity in strategic assessment is one of the critical weaknesses in the central Russian government architecture: as highlighted by Russia's original decision to invade Ukraine.

"Impartial official analysis is almost certainly frequently undermined by a tendency toward group-think and politically expedient conclusions."

It comes after a pair of Russian nuclear bombers are thought to have been destroyed after air bases came under attack earlier this week.

Ukraine is suspected to be behind an attack on the Engels-2 base, which houses long-range strategic bombers, in Saratov, but Kyiv did not take responsibility.

Two people were hurt by a blast in the base, Russian media reported, while three are said to have died and five have been injured in a separate attack on an airfield near Ryazan, south-east of Moscow.

The bases are hundreds of miles from Ukraine.Reports say two Tu-95 bombers, nicknamed Bears, which can carry nuclear weapons, were destroyed in the Engels-2 explosion.Footage shows a huge blast light up the night sky.

The bombers have been used against Ukraine as part of a Russian campaign to destroy the country's infrastructure, having attacked its energy apparatus in the midst of freezing temperatures.They will be familiar to Brits after years of footage of them being intercepted by RAF patrols when they fly close to the UK.

The governor of the Saratov region, in Russia's south west, said security units were responding to "reports of an incident at military installations".

Roman Busargin said: "Information about a loud explosion and outbreak in Engels in the early hours of this morning is spreading on social media and the media.

"I would like to assure you that no emergencies have occurred in the residential areas of the city."

There is no cause for concern. No civilian infrastructure was damaged."

It has been reported that 14 Tu-95s flew out of Engels-2 in a bid to get them further away from Ukraine and any potential future drone strikes.

In Ryazan, it has been claimed a fuel tank blew up during an attack, which was apparently a drone strike. The Ryazan base is used by Russian special forces.

"Everything in my house flew off the shelves. I thought the windows would fly out. We live not far from the take-off zone," said a resident.

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Another said: "The blast wave broke the latch on the window and flung it open. You could see a column of smoke and sparks.

"The explosion was a single one, strong. There was no exact sound of something falling before the explosion. It looks like a fuel tank explosion to me."

Some military analysts have seen the attacks on Russian airbases as a response to Moscow's continued bombing of Ukraine, which has destroyed critical infrastructure in recent weeks.

The Ukrainian army has been pushing back against the Russian invasion, which began in February, with the latest major victory the recapture of the occupied city of Kherson in November.