US distances itself from alleged cross-border attack by anti-Putin Russians in Ukraine

The US has distanced itself from a cross-border raid into Russia, which Moscow says ended in the defeat of armed insurgents who entered from Ukraine. Russia later released pictures of abandoned or damaged Western military vehicles, including US-made Humvees. The US insisted it did not "encourage or enable strikes inside of Russia". The raid led Moscow to declare a counter-terrorism operation, giving the authorities special powers to clamp down on communications and people's movements. The measures were only lifted the following afternoon, and even then, one of the paramilitary groups was claiming it still controlled a small piece of Russian territory.