Putin calls security council meeting after accusing Ukraine of terror

Russian President Vladimir Putin called a special meeting of the National Security Council on Thursday, following reports from his own intelligence service about fighting with Ukrainian units on Russian territory.

A planned trip to the Caucasus on Friday was cancelled at short notice.

The topic of the Security Council meeting is unknown, but there has long been speculation that Russia could officially declare war on Ukraine and order a further mobilization of hundreds of thousands of troops for the army.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, when asked by journalists whether the gathering of senior defence officials would upgrade what Moscow continues to call a "special military operation," said: "I don't know, I can't say."

It is a punishable offence in Russia to refer to its operation in Ukraine as a war.

Another outcome of the meeting could be greater restrictions on civil rights and steps towards a war and command economy.

Also on Thursday, Putin accused Ukraine of terror after reports of fighting in the south-western Russian border region of Bryansk.

It was "another terrorist attack and another crime," the Russian president said during a video conference.

Russia started the war against Ukraine when it invaded its neighbour, in an unprovoked attack, on February 24, 2022.

Earlier, the domestic intelligence service FSB spoke of heavy fighting with "Ukrainian nationalists" in Bryansk. Kiev has denied responsibility for the incidents, saying it came from targeted Russian disinformation.

According to Russian sources, a motorist was killed and a 10-year-old child was injured in the Bryansk region by shelling from what the Russians called Ukrainian sabotage forces. The Russian sources said the child was being cared for in hospital.

"They entered the border area where they opened fire on civilians. They saw that it was a civilian vehicle, that there were civilians and children inside," Putin said.

Media have also circulated reports of an alleged hostage situation and a firing on a school bus, but these were then retracted even by officials in Russia and rejected by Ukrainian authorities, who noted that remote learning has been in place for several months.

The administration of the Sushany area also denied that several people had been taken hostage there by Ukrainian militants.

Putin blamed the shooting on the leadership in Kiev, which he once again portrayed as alleged "neo-Nazis." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is Jewish.

Putin claimed Ukraine was trying to rob Russia of its historical identity and language by force.

"But I repeat myself: they will not succeed, and we will crush them."

As for the alleged attacks, Russian nationalists later claimed responsibility for them in a video. While some Russian nationalists support Putin's war, others are fighting on Kiev's side. However, it is unclear whether the action in Bryansk was coordinated with the Ukrainian military.

Since shortly after the start of the war, Russia has repeatedly complained about shelling on its own territory. However, the number of casualties and damage in Russia are completely out of proportion to the consequences of the war in Ukraine, where many cities have been destroyed and thousands killed.