The attempted incursion into the western Bryansk region this week, which has been thwarted by Russia, couldn't have been possible without the backing of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), an Indian Air Force (IAF) veteran and a think tank told Sputnik India.
The massive cache of arms and ammunitions recovered from the four neutralised "saboteurs" showed that they were trying to carry out a "special operation" inside the Russian territory and possibly open another front after Ukraine's failed offensive in the neighbouring Kursk region, a retired Air Marshal M Matheswaran, President of The Peninsula Foundation (TPF), asserted.
"Ukraine is in a state of defeat. The attempted incursion into the Bryansk region by heavily armed mercenaries could be viewed as an attempt to get some bargaining chips in hand before they finally decide to come to the negotiating table. In fact, for Ukraine and its NATO backers, trying to get some Russian territory before the negotiations seems to be a last-ditch effort to gain some leverage," Matheswaran stated.
From the evidence released by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), the four mercenaries might well be aiming to "get inside Russia, conduct subaltern warfare, inflict damage and casualties and try to gain a foothold on some territory," he suggested.
The intruding party comprised around 10 heavily armed fighters, according to the Russian National Guard.
However, the failed incursion attempt wasn’t the first time foreign combatants have tried to enter Russian territory, Indian Army veteran Major General Prabdeep Singh Behl highlighted to Sputnik India.
"According to reports, foreign mercenaries from western countries are involved in combat in Ukraine," stated Behl.
The personal items recovered from the eliminated saboteurs included a Canadian flag and a Polish-language prayer book, as pet the video released by the FSB. Significantly, Russian agencies reported that a tattoo of "angel wings" on one of the fighters' arms indicated he was a member of the US Army Rangers.
The foreign fighters were also in possession of foreign-made weapons and explosive devices, the FSB has said.
President Vladimir Putin has warned that any deployment of NATO soldiers to Ukraine would cross a "red line" for Russia, which would prompt a strong military response, including stationing of Russian missiles to target Europe.