Russian troops are engaged in fierce combat to repel Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region, marking the third consecutive day of what is described as one of the largest cross-border incursions of the war. This development was confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry on Thursday.
In an official statement, the ministry elaborated that Russian military personnel and border guards have successfully thwarted Ukrainian forces’ attempts to penetrate deeper into southwestern Russia. It was noted that the Russian army is actively engaging Ukrainian fighters who are attempting to advance from Ukraine’s Sumy region.
“Attempts by individual units to break through deep into the territory in the Kursk direction are being suppressed,” the ministry emphasized.
Reports from the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, suggest that Ukrainian troops have managed to advance as far as 15 kilometers (9 miles) into Russian territory. However, this data has yet to be officially confirmed by either side.
The Ukrainian government has remained silent on the incursion. In a video address to the nation late Thursday, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy refrained from mentioning the specific fighting in the Kursk region. Instead, he reiterated that “Russia brought the war to our land, and it should feel what it has done,” underscoring the broader conflict context.
According to Russian claims, their military has managed to halt Ukrainian advances in the border area approximately 500 kilometers (about 320 miles) southwest of Moscow. However, various military sources and open-source intelligence indicate that Ukrainian forces have made strategic gains in several sectors of the Kursk region.
Kursk region’s acting governor, Alexei Smirnov, provided an update to Russian President Vladimir Putin via a video link on Thursday. Smirnov confirmed that while the Ukrainian advancements had been largely halted, sporadic skirmishes continued in various areas of the region, indicating an ongoing volatile situation.
Source: AP
