In response to the alleged sabotage in the Bryansk region, Russia launched missile strikes against Ukraine's infrastructure. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the strikes were a "massive retaliatory" action. The ministry released a press statement on March 9 via its Telegram channel.
On Thursday, March 9, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that they had launched hypersonic Kynzhal missiles, striking what they called "key elements of the military infrastructure" and defense industrial complex enterprises providing energy facilities in Ukraine. The ministry stated that the strike had achieved its intended purpose.
However, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that the attack resulted in casualties and fatalities. He said that 81 missiles fired overnight targeted residential buildings along with critical infrastructure.
The attack in the Bryansk villages of Lyubechane and Sushany, where "Ukrainian saboteurs" reportedly took local residents hostage, occurred on March 2. According to Bryansk governor Aleksandr Bogomaz, sabotage groups entered the villages and opened fire on a car, killing the driver and injuring a ten-year-old boy named Fyodor, who was taken to the hospital. Despite his wound, Fyodor managed to rescue two schoolgirls from the car and hide them in the woods.
The Russian Volunteer Corps, which has been fighting on the side of Ukraine since 2014, claimed responsibility for the attack in the Klimovsk district. The commander of the group published a video of armed men near a medical station in Lyubechane, denying any knowledge of wounded children or hostages.
Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced the incident as a terrorist act and held a closed meeting with the Security Council the day after the event, but no details of its outcome have been released.
