Ukrainian forces have made their deepest and most significant incursion into Russian territory since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, advancing up to 30km inside the country.
The Russian defence ministry reported that its troops engaged Ukrainian forces near Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez villages as the Kursk region offensive entered its sixth day.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of “intimidating the peaceful population of Russia.”
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the attack for the first time, stating that Ukraine was pushing the war onto the aggressor’s territory.
“Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor,” Zelensky said during his nightly address from Kyiv.
He also praised Ukraine’s “warriors” and discussed the operation with the country’s top military commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi.
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP that thousands of troops are involved in the operation, far exceeding the small-scale incursion initially reported by Russian border guards.
While Ukrainian-backed sabotage groups have conducted cross-border incursions in the past, the Kursk offensive represents the largest coordinated attack on Russian soil by Kyiv’s conventional forces.
“We are on the offensive. The aim is to stretch the positions of the enemy, inflict maximum losses, and destabilize the situation in Russia as they are unable to protect their own border,” the official said.
The Russian defence ministry claimed that its forces had “foiled attempts by enemy mobile groups with armoured vehicles to break through deep into Russian territory.”
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However, the ministry’s reports indicate that Ukrainian forces have advanced deep into the Kursk border region, with engagements occurring near the villages of Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez, located about 25km and 30km from the Russia-Ukraine border.
Ukrainian troops have reportedly captured several settlements in the Kursk region. In Guevo, a village about 3km inside Russia, soldiers filmed themselves removing the Russian flag from an administrative building. Additional footage shows Ukrainian troops seizing administrative buildings in Sverdlikovo and Poroz, with intense fighting reported in Sudzha, a town of about 5,000 people.
Ukrainian forces have also filmed themselves outside Sudzha at a major gas facility that plays a role in the transit of natural gas from Russia to the EU via Ukraine, which has continued despite the ongoing war.
In Sumy, which borders the Kursk region, BBC reporters observed a steady stream of armoured personnel carriers and tanks moving towards Russia. These armoured convoys bear white triangular insignias, seemingly to distinguish them from equipment used within Ukraine itself.
Additionally, aerial photos appear to show Ukrainian tanks engaged in combat inside Russia.
Satellite imagery comparison shows several newly constructed trench lines near the plant, with the nearest trench approximately 8km (5 miles) away.
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