Russian-Ukrainian war: What lies behind Bryansk attacks and Ukraine's reception of Patriot system

The Russian city of Bryansk witnessed a dangerous infiltration by a group of Ukrainian fighters who crossed the border between Russia and Ukraine to klimovsk District of Bryansk.

After crossing into the district, the fighters opened fire on cars in the area.

This left a man dead and a 10-year-old child injured.

The group also held six citizens hostage in a store in the village.

This comes at the time the Ukrainian army received the Patriot air defence system, which gives it a good cover from intensive Russian attacks, as well as Leopard tanks, in preparation for launching a counterattack.

Kiev's forces shot down half of the missiles fired by Russia, at least in ten areas, despite Russia's use of hypersonic Kinzhal missiles.

Experts predicted that, according to recent data, Kiev may regain the tone of victories by staging a counterattack or implementing the so-called active steadfastness without withdrawals, as happened in the Soledar and Bakhmut axes and other strategic territories and cities.

The greatest evidence of this is the penetration of Ukrainian attacks into the heart of Russia, in an attempt to repel the thunderbolts of the Russian side, as happened in Bryansk.

The same experts stressed that Western countries supporting Ukraine are trying to tighten the issue of training soldiers in the use of advanced weapons, especially Leopard 2 tanks, which was completed in Poland to ensure optimal utilization, and yet Moscow has enough resources to continue the war in Ukraine for two years, according to a senior Lithuanian military intelligence officer.

Meanwhile, international affairs specialist, Ahmed al-Anani, said the events witnessed in Bryansk province are certainly a message sent to the Russian Interior from Ukraine that the border can be breached at any time.

"They are also a psychological message more than a military message to the Russian army," he told The Reference.

Anani added that Moscow deals with the situation calmly, and says that it would hold the Ukrainian hackers whom it called terrorists accountable.

This, he said, paves the way for more Russian strikes on Ukraine and more ferocity in the fighting as a kind of natural backlash against any painful action from the Ukrainian side.

Al-Anani pointed out that the Bryansk incident opens the door wide to an increase in dangerous operations deep inside Russia in the coming stage.

"It also increases the frequency of unrest in the Russian border areas," al-Anani said.

He referred to the statements of Russian President Vladimir Putin that the Russian army would protect civilians from what he called 'neo-Nazis' and 'terrorists' who have long tortured and killed people before in Donbass.

Al-Anani stressed that the Ukrainian forces did not stop at the incident in Bryansk, but continued their activity on the border, targeting another Russian border area in Kursk.

This, he said, resulted in casualties.