Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced yesterday that a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group, which included mercenaries, unsuccessfully had tried to break through the Russian border in Bryansk Region on Oct. 27. The FSB said in a statement that the Bryansk Region’s border patrol and local armed forces had killed four Ukrainian troops after encountering them trying to break into Russian territory in Klimovsk district, reported TASS. The rest of the invaders were later targeted with artillery strikes and suffered unspecified casualties, according to the report. The fallen Ukrainian fighters were found to be equipped with foreign weapons and equipment, as well as personal items such as a Canadian flag, a Polish prayer book, and a notepad with notes on tactics in English, indicating that the deceased fighters were not from Ukraine.
The FSB imagery included a tattoo on the upper arm of one of the dead mercenaries, showing an angel holding a rifle, with a banner reading “Ranger” and “2d Bn,” apparently a reference to the 2nd Battalion of the U.S. Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment. “According to law enforcement agencies, among the mercenaries neutralized in Bryansk Region are nationals of the U.S., Poland, and Canada,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told reporters yesterday. “This is preliminary information that will be updated.”
