Russia says its forces are fighting to repel Ukrainian forces after they pushed across the border in Kursk

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces are fighting to drive Ukrainian troops out of the Kursk region on a third day of fighting. One of the largest cross-border incursions “This is the beginning of the war,” the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.

The ministry said in a statement that the Russian military and border guards prevented Ukrainian forces from advancing deep into the region in southwestern Russia. It added that the military was attacking Ukrainian fighters trying to advance into the area from Ukraine’s Sumy region.

“Attempts by individual units to break deep into the territory towards Kursk are being suppressed,” the ministry said.

According to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, Ukrainian forces have advanced 15 kilometers (9 miles) into Russian territory. This data has not been officially confirmed.

Kiev has not commented on the incursion. In a video address to the nation late Thursday, Ukraine’s president said: Volodymyr Zelensky Lavrov did not mention the fighting in the Kursk region, but stressed that “Russia brought war to our land, and it must feel what it has done.”

“Ukrainians know how to achieve their goals,” Zelensky said, adding that he received three “productive reports, exactly the kind our country needs now” on Thursday from the commander of Ukraine’s armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Russia says the military has succeeded in halting the Ukrainian advance in the border area about 500 kilometers (about 320 miles) southwest of Moscow, but military bloggers and open-source data indicate that Ukrainian forces have made gains in several areas of Kursk.

Acting Kursk region governor Alexei Smirnov briefed Russian President Vladimir Putin on the situation there via video link on Thursday. Smirnov said the region plans to equip gas stations with electronic warfare units and provide them with unspecified armored defense.

Kursk regional authorities reported on Wednesday that at least five civilians, including two ambulance workers, had been killed. The Russian health ministry said 66 civilians, including nine children, had been wounded in the Kursk region in three days of fighting.

Putin, who called the incursion a “large-scale provocation” that included “indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings, residential homes and ambulances,” was briefed on the situation by his top military and security officials on Wednesday.

About 100 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the battle and more than 200 were wounded, General Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian military’s General Staff, told Putin via video link.

It was not possible to independently verify the Russian claims. During the war, now in its third year, Misinformation and propaganda You played a pivotal role.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on the operation and said the Biden administration had reached out to the Ukrainians to better understand the situation.

This cross-border raid would be among the largest by Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.

Kyiv’s goal may be to draw Russian reserves into the area, which could weaken Moscow’s offensive operations in several parts of eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where Russian forces have increased their attacks and are gradually making significant operational gains.

But it could lead to the outnumbered Ukrainian forces spreading along the front line, which is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) long.

Even if Russia decides to send reserve forces to stabilize the new front, given its massive manpower and the relatively small number of Ukrainian troops involved in the operation, this is likely to have little impact in the long run. And withdrawing units from the front line to stabilize the Kursk region will take a long time.

However, the operation could boost Ukrainian morale at a time when Kyiv’s forces are facing relentless Russian attacks, with more attacks expected in the coming weeks.

Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior adviser to Zelensky, said on Thursday that the attacks on the border area would make Russia “begin to realize that the war is slowly creeping into Russian territory.” He also suggested that such an operation would improve Kyiv’s position in negotiations with Moscow.

“When will it be possible to have a negotiation process in a way that we can pressure them or get something from them? Only when the war is not going according to their scenarios,” he said.

Several Ukrainian brigades stationed along the border area declined to comment, along with the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and General Staff.

Russian forces have quickly repelled previous border incursions, but not before causing damage and embarrassing the authorities.

Responsibility for Previous raids Two shadowy groups, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom Corps of Russia, made up of Russian citizens who have fought alongside Ukrainian forces, have claimed control of the Belgorod and Bryansk regions of Russia.

The Kursk region’s border with Ukraine is 245 kilometers (150 miles) long, making it possible for sabotage groups to launch quick raids and seize some territory before Russia deploys reinforcements.

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