Ukraine’s military says it halted another attempted border crossing by armed Russian groups in the north of the country.

The commander of Ukraine’s Joint Forces, Lt. Gen. Serhiy Naiev, said in Telegram that Russian saboteurs tried entering from Russia near Novhorod-Siverskyi in Chernihiv Oblast.

Soldiers at an observation post engaged the approaching militants in a firefight before Ukrainian artillery struck the area, according to Naiev.

He stated that after the border guards spotted two groups of armed men, “a decision was made by the senior commander to fire on the enemy’s sabotage forces.”

Preliminary reports indicate the sabotage and reconnaissance groups had around 5-7 fighters each, Naiev added.

A counter-sabotage reserve with aerial surveillance units was also deployed to the border zone following the skirmish.