[30] Several attacks in Western Russia, primarily in Bryansk, Kursk, and Belgorod oblasts, were reported since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022.

[38] Later that day, Belgorod Oblast governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced via Telegram that a "Ukrainian military sabotage and reconnaissance group" had entered the district, saying that Russian forces were "taking the necessary steps to eliminate the enemy".

[23] The deputy head of Grayvoron's municipal administration and two emergency workers were reportedly wounded in an attack that damaged the town hall.

[39] The Freedom of Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps claimed responsibility for the incursion, announcing that the two groups working together had taken control of the villages of Kozinka,[38][25][26] Gora-Podol,[40] and Glotovo [ru][10] and that forward units had reached the district capital of Grayvoron.

They would only confirm this on 4 June after posting images on Twitter proving their involvement; up until that point, there had been reports from Russian soldiers that some of the saboteurs spoke Polish.

[4][5] While the incursion was taking place, the Freedom of Russia Legion posted videos showing the white-blue-white Russian opposition flag being lifted with balloons over the center of Moscow.

[49] According to video reports, the Federal Security Service (FSB) office in the city of Belgorod was struck in a drone attack, nearly 80 km (50 mi) away from the "combat zone".

[55] Later, during the night of the same day, the Ukrainian journalist Andriy Tsaplienko posted a picture on his Telegram channel showing five allegedly Russian opposition soldiers in front of the entrance sign of Gogolevka [ru], a village in Kursk Oblast.

The Russian Defense Ministry said there were three attempted raids along the border in the Shebekinsky District by up to 70 "Ukrainian terrorists" with tanks and armored vehicles.

Belgorod governor, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said Ukraine's armed forces had shelled Shebekino with Grad rockets, damaging an administrative building.

This is shown by some images of members of the battalion carrying MANPADS published with the comment "Briefly about the emergency landings of military aircraft on the BPR [Belgorod People's Republic]".

[66][67] On 4 June, the FRL posted a video online calling for Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov to meet them "to discuss the current situation in the region and the future of Russia," in exchange for releasing two Russian soldiers they had captured.

[69][65] On 5 June, the pro-Ukrainian forces reported that they killed Russian colonel Andrey Stesev in battle on the territory of Belgorod Oblast.

[70] Ukrainian military intelligence also announced that Stesev had died in the early hours of 5 June, but according to Meduza, there has not been any independent confirmation of the information.

[83] The Freedom of Russia Legion claimed responsibility for the raid, and stated that it had withdrawn from Russian territory after mining the eliminated "stronghold" at Terebreno.

[20] Separately, Caesar, the commander and spokesman of the Freedom of Russia Legion, named in reality Maximilian Andronikov,[84] said two of its fighters had been killed and 10 wounded.

[20][85] On 4 June, the Polish Volunteer Corps stated that they suffered no killed or wounded and that the unit successfully completed all its assigned tasks during the first raid.

[48][90][50] Three Humvees and two International M1224 MaxxPro MRAPs were claimed as captured, with some noting that markings on some of the vehicles Russia displayed matched those seen in videos released by the Pro-Ukrainian forces.

[87][88] According to Radio Liberty, a participant in the raid revealed in an interview that two Humvees did indeed fall into the trenches near the checkpoint, and were abandoned in the location seen in the video.

[48] At the 24 May press conference, Kapustin said his soldiers had seized weapons, an armoured personnel carrier, and taken prisoners before leaving Russian territory.

[24] Andriy Yusov, the spokesman of Ukraine's Military Intelligency Agency (HUR), speaking on 22 May, agreed that the goal of the militants was to "liberate territories" and create a security corridor to protect Ukrainian civilians.

[96] Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the raid an attempt by Ukraine "to divert attention" away from the Russian capture of Bakhmut.

[26] Retired United States Army official Mark Hertling said that the raid was part of Ukrainian shaping operations to "keep the Russian military on the back foot" as Ukraine prepared for its highly anticipated counteroffensive.

[20] According to BBC News, it is unlikely that the incursion was made without the help of Ukrainian military intelligence, and may play into Russian narratives that Russia is under attack by Western-backed forces.

[10][105][97][106] Internet memes about creating such an entity, a satire of the pro-Russian Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics, spread on Ukrainian social media following the raid.

[110] Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Security Council of Russia, blamed the Ukrainian government for the attack and called for the "extermination" of the perpetrators.

[58] According to the Institute for the Study of War, the Russian milblogger community reacted to the May raid "with [...] panic, factionalism, and incoherency", consistent with its previous responses to "significant informational shocks".

[19] Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian Defense Ministry of incompetence in defending Russia and its borders.

[113] He called Belgorod governor Gladkov "an uneducated, ill-prepared coward", and said Defense Minister Shoigu's lack of resolve had enabled "genocide" against the Russian people.

[114] Residents of Shebekino, when interviewed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, "still [appeared] to be firmly in support of the campaign under way in Ukraine", but expressed "dismay and confusion" at the lack of helpful response or sympathy from the Russian government.