MOSCOW, August 13. /TASS/. Kiev has deployed members of the Ukrainian Special Operations Forces and foreign mercenaries to the Russian border in order to stage a provocation, Lieutenant General Apty Alaudinov, deputy chief of the Russian Armed Forces’ Main Military-Political Department and commander of the Akhmat special forces commando unit, told TASS.

"Reports coming in say that forces have been concentrated there to carry out an attack in that vicinity. At this point, we cannot say for sure where it will be but it’s important to note that these are Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces, which are made up of those specialists - let’s say - the ones they have left, and it’s one of the most combat-ready units," he pointed out.

Alaudinov observed that "they were withdrawn from various sectors of the front, received additional staff and equipment, and were deployed to this area." "Reports say that there are also a lot of foreigners there," he added.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported earlier that, according to information obtained from various sources, the Kiev regime was plotting a provocation in order to derail Russia-US talks set for August 15. For that purpose, a group of foreign journalists traveling in vehicles belonging to the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) arrived in the city of Chuguyev in the Kharkov Region on August 11 under the cover of "making a series of reports about people living in the frontline zone." Acts of provocation are also possible in other residential areas controlled by the Kiev regime, the Russian Defense Ministry added.