Ukraine appears to have launched an attack into the Russian region of Kursk bordering its territory.
First reports of a ground attack emerged on Tuesday and were denounced by Alexei Smirnov, the governor of the Russian region being assaulted.
After speaking of “attempted border breakthroughs”, Smirnov claimed Ukrainians had attacked Russian border force units in Nikolayevo-Daryino and Oleshnya.
Reports of fighting continued into Wednesday, when Russian military bloggers claimed Ukrainian troops had reached the town of Sudzha – around five miles into the region. Shelling was constant, according to eyewitnesses.
Despite being home to just some 5,000 people, the town holds major strategic importance, as it’s the last major transit point for Russian pipeline gas heading into the European Union.
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Cross-border skirmishes are believed to still be happening on Thursday, the day after the Chief of Russia’s General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, claimed the advance had been stopped.
Ukraine, which rarely claims responsibility for attacks launched outside of its internationally-recognised territory, hasn’t yet commented on the attack.
Kyiv has, however, announced a mandatory evacuation of 6,000 people in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Sumy bordering Kursk.
On Tuesday, a security source in Ukraine told AFP that Kyiv had struck a Russian helicopter with a drone while it was flying over the Kursk region – albeit they didn’t draw a direct link to the incursion.
Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak alluded more clearly to the attack on Kursk, as he said on social media that Moscow had previously used its “border regions with impunity for massive air and artillery attacks”.
Kursk isn’t the only Russian region where the illegal war launched by Vladimir Putin in February 2022 has spilt over.
The Bolgorod region has been suffering shelling for several months, while other Russian areas have been reached by Ukrainian drones aiming for sensitive targets such as military airfields and oil depots.
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