A representative of a volunteer Russian battalion fighting for Kyiv says that they "thwarted" a major Russian attack in Ukraine timed to coincide with President Vladimir Putin's re-election as president. "Putin's army was preparing to carry out a major attack, timed to coincide with the elections and, more specifically, with the investiture ceremony that followed," Alexei Baranovsky of the Freedom of Russia Legion tells a press conference in Kyiv with representatives of other Russian volunteer battalions, crediting their cross-border operation for forcing Moscow "to redeploy large parts of its forces" and to tighten security in the Russian Belgorod and Kursk regions. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES