Russia says its troops are battling to push Ukrainian forces back a cross-border incursion in Kursk

In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, a Russian soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

KYIV, Ukraine -

Russian troops are battling to push back Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region on the third day of one of the largest cross-border incursions of the war, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.

A ministry statement said the Russian military and border guards have blocked Ukrainian forces from pushing deeper into the region in southwestern Russia. It added that the army is attacking Ukrainian fighters trying to advance into the area from Ukraine's Sumy region.

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"Attempts by individual units to break through deep into the territory in the Kursk direction are being suppressed," the ministry said.

Ukrainian troops had advanced as much as 15 kilometres (9 miles) into Russian territory, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank. The data that hasn't been officially confirmed.

Kyiv has not commented on the incursion. In a video address to the nation late Thursday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not mention the fighting in the Kursk region but emphasized that "Russia brought the war to our land, and it should feel what it has done."

"Ukrainians know how to achieve their goals," Zelenskyy 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 stemmed Ukrainian advances in the border area about 500 kilometres (about 320 miles) southwest of Moscow, but military bloggers and open source data indicate Ukrainian troops have made gains in several areas in Kursk.

The Kursk region's acting governor, Alexei Smirnov, briefed Russian President Vladimir Putin on conditions there by video link Thursday. Smirnov said the region plans to equip gas stations with electronic warfare units and to provide them with unspecified armored defence.

Putin, who described the incursion as a "large-scale provocation" that involved "indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings, residential houses and ambulances" was briefed on the situation by his top military and security officials on Wednesday.

Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian military's General Staff, told Putin via video link that about 100 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the battle and more than 200 others were wounded. Kursk regional authorities reported Wednesday that at least five civilians, including two ambulance workers, were killed.

It wasn't possible to independently verify the Russian claims. During the war, now in its third year, disinformation and propaganda have played a central role.

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

The cross-border foray would be among Ukraine's largest since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

Kyiv's aim could be to draw Russian reserves to the area, potentially weakening Moscow's offensive operations in several parts of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, where Russian forces have increased attacks and are advancing gradually toward operationally significant gains.

But it could risk stretching outmanned Ukrainian troops further along the front line, which is more than 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) long.

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Even if Russia were to commit reserves to stabilize the new front, given its vast manpower and the relatively small number of Ukrainian forces engaged in the operation, it would likely have little long-term impact. Pulling units from the front line to stabilize the Kursk region would also be time consuming.

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

Myhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Zelenskyy, said Thursday that border region attacks will cause Russia to "start to realize that the war is slowly creeping inside of Russian territory." He also suggested such an operation would improve Kyiv's hand in the event of negotiations with Moscow.

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

Several Ukrainian brigades stationed along the border region would not comment, along with Ukraine's Defense Ministry and General Staff.

Russian forces have swiftly repelled previous cross-border incursions, but not before they caused damage and embarrassed authorities.

Responsibility for previous incursions into Russia's Belgorod and Bryansk regions has been claimed by two murky groups: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion, made up of Russian citizens and have fought alongside Ukrainian forces.

The Kursk region's border with Ukraine is 245 kilometres (150 miles) long, making it possible for saboteur groups to launch swift incursions and capture some ground before Russia deploys reinforcements