Cross-Border 'Terror Attack' On Russia Involved Dozens Of Armed Saboteurs Attacking Villages

The Kremlin has condemned what it called a new terrorist attack on its soil Thursday carried out by Ukrainian saboteurs who allegedly breached a border region. 

Russian presidency spokesman Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said militants entered the Bryansk Oblast in Western Russia and attacked villages there, resulting in the death of one civilian and another wounded. "This is an attack by terrorists," Peskov said.

Conflicting initial reports indicated Russia’s Federal Security Service engaged in a gun battle with  the infiltrators, with the Kremlin saying "Measures are currently underway to eliminate these terrorists."

he Associated Press describes based on national media that "Tass, citing Russian law enforcement, reported earlier that the saboteurs were holding up to six people hostage."

"The local governor said the group had fired on a vehicle there, killing one man and wounding a 10-year-old," AP continues. The report details further:

Thursday's apparent incursion was also embarrassing for Russian President Vladimir Putin, coming days after he ordered the Federal Security Service to tighten controls on Russia’s border with Ukraine.

Tass reported, citing an unnamed security official, that two villages in the Bryansk region — Sushany and Lyubechane — were under attack by "several dozen armed fighters."

Alexander Bogomaz, the governor of the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, said the group fired on a vehicle in Lyubechane, killing one man and wounding a child. He also said that a Ukrainian drone struck a house in the Sushany, setting it ablaze.