Armed Russian anti-government groups appear to have used at least three American-made armored vehicles in the Belgorod Oblast incursion, according to the pictures and videos verified by The New York Times.
The article claimed that the groups appear to have used International MaxxPros models of Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles (MRAPs) in the May 22 Belgorod Oblast incursion in Russia.
United States is the only country known to provide these vehicles to Ukraine, according to The Times.
Mykhailo Podoliak, an advisor to the head of Ukraine's Presidential Office, said the Ukrainian leadership had “nothing to do” with the combat operation on May 22.
"As you know, tanks are sold at any Russian military store, and underground guerrilla groups are composed of Russian citizens," Podoliak tweeted. The Ukrainian government has not addressed the claims about the American armored vehicles used in the attack yet.
The Free Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps claimed responsibility for fighting within Russia and taking hold of Russian villages next to the Ukrainian border.
After Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of Belgorod Oblast, announced the successful end to the "counter-terrorism operation," the Russian Volunteer Corps denied the government’s claims regarding the destruction of their military equipment and casualties among their combatants.
The Times’ analysis, however, found that at least two of the three American MRAPs appear to have been captured by Russian forces based on the photos from pro-Russian Telegram channels compared to videos posted by anti-Putin fighters.
Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman interviewed by The Times, said he is “skeptical at this time of the veracity of these reports.”
The Kyiv Independent news desk
(Updated: )
