Ukraine said it “does not have any responsibility” over the Russian dissident groups that have claimed to be fighting inside Russian territory.
Those groups are "acting on their own and that’s why it’s difficult to reply," Ukraine’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk said.
Melnyk comments follow Thursday's claims from The Russian Volunteer Corps, a military group of anti-Putin Russian nationals, that it had begun its “second phase” of fighting inside Russian territory. The Freedom for Russia Legion — a similar but separate group — also claimed Thursday to be "near the border" with Russia.
Although both groups are aligned with the Ukrainian defense forces, Kyiv has previously stated they act as “independent entities” when operating in Russia.
Melnyk said Ukraine “has a legitimate right to attack goals inside Russia,” but caveated they must “proceed with cautiousness.”
“We do not want to create any chance of Russia to accuse us of attacking them,” he said.
“Our partners and our key allies have requested Ukraine not to use some kind of weaponry that we have received the Russian territory, and that is an arrangement that we really cherish,” the deputy foreign minister said.