Ukraine’s Main Directorate of Intelligence (GUR) has published footage showing pro-Ukrainian Ichkerian forces ambushing a lone Russian supply truck just outside of the Russian border village of Sereda, Belgorod, resulting in the death of two Russian soldiers.

Chechen soldiers fighting against Russia on the side of Ukraine ambush a Russian military truck – video by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of Ukrainehttps://t.co/ULlDQs9OOP pic.twitter.com/YahoQH6tf1

— Special Kherson Cat ??? (@bayraktar_1love) July 17, 2023

The ambush appears to have taken place on a road located at (50.245316, 36.619966).

Ukraine’s military normally denies involvement in attacks carried out against Russian territory, saying that the combatants involved do so on their own accord outside of Ukrainian territory and chalking it up to “resistance activity.” The best example of this includes incursions into Belgorod by elements of the Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL) and the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC), two ethnic-Russian volunteer units that are part of Ukraine’s Foreign Legion. The border itself remains largely undefended, which has allowed for numerous incursions over the past several months.

What is interesting about this ambush is that its footage was originally posted by the Ukrainian GUR. As Calibre Obscura pointed out on Twitter, the Chechen forces involved were likely Ichkerian OBON forces, who fall under control of the GUR. Weapons used in the ambush were the same that were supplied to Ichkerian OBON earlier this year.

#Ukraine: The Ichkerian OBON (Separate Special Purpose Battalion) apparently received some shiny new SIG 516 14.5" rifles, along with SIG Romeo4T RDS and Magpul mags.

Likely that this was via a sale to the GUR, who maintain overall command of OBON and other structures in the IL. pic.twitter.com/pyIYrqGca7

— C?????? O?s???? (@CalibreObscura) February 2, 2023

While falling short of claiming direct responsibility, it is interesting to see the implications of Ukraine’s military being more outward about attacks inside of Russia. Another reason why Ukraine has shied away from claiming responsibility is the repercussions of using western-supplied arms and vehicles in these operations, which is barred under condition of them receiving said equipment. The incursions into Belgorod by the FRL and RVC used US-supplied HMMWVs and MRAPs, which Russia bashed as direct NATO involvement in the attacks.

Ambushes such as these use low intensity guerrilla tactics, which generally have no direct impact on logistics chains. However, attacks such as these play a psychological role, leading Russian forces along the border to believe they are not impervious to ground force attacks, which had normally been the case up until recently. Attacks such as these also play into propaganda for Ukraine, highlighting weak defenses between the northern borders.