Moscow has said about 300 soldiers from Ukraine launched a cross-border attack into a hitherto quiet part of the front on Tuesday, with reports of fighting at a town as deep as six miles (10km) inside Russia.
Moscow’s ministry of defence said late on Tuesday that up to “300 Ukrainian militants” from Ukraine’s 22nd mechanised brigade launched the attack at 8am, supported by “11 tanks and more than 20 armoured fighting vehicles”.
Fighting took place throughout the day between the border villages of Nikolayevo-Daryino and Oleshnya in the Kursk region, and as far inside Russia as the fringes of Sudzha, 10km from the frontline – where two strikes on Russian trailers loaded with tanks were photographed from overhead.
Though Russia said it had repelled the incursion, reports from Russian military bloggers and imagery on social media indicated that the Ukrainian attack was substantial, though it was unclear how far it could be sustained.
Rybar, a popular Russian military blogger, said that on Tuesday evening the situation in the Kursk region remained tense with battles taking place in border districts. “Judging by the latest footage, Ukrainian formations have managed to advance,” the blogger wrote.
That contrasted with the initial statement from Moscow’s defence ministry, which claimed to have repelled the attack. “After suffering losses, the Ukrainian sabotage group retreated to its territory, while some of the fighters tried to gain a foothold directly on the territory adjacent to the state border, where they were blocked by Russian army units,” the ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine’s political leaders and the Ministry of Defence did not immediately comment on the situation, but one junior official did acknowledge the attack was taking place, and indicated it had not been defeated.
Andrii Kovalenko, the head of an anti-disinformation department at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, said that “Russian soldiers are lying about the controllability of the situation in the Kursk region. Russia does not control the border.”
The attack’s purpose could be an attempt by Ukraine, whose defences are stretched, to divert some Russian forces to defend a part of the frontline that has been largely inactive since spring 2022 – and also boost morale at home.
However, critics in Ukraine argue that such assaults serve no long-term military purpose. Anti-Kremlin Russian groups launched attacks from Ukraine into Belgorod and Kursk regions in March, but were repelled for no strategic gain.
Earlier on Tuesday, Alexei Smirnov, acting governor of the Kursk region, said Russian soldiers and FSB forces had repelled the Ukrainian attack and three Russian civilians had been killed and 18 others were wounded.
Russia said it had launched airstrikes on Ukrainian armour and reserve forces had been moved to shore up the frontline and it had destroyed 16 armoured units belonging to the invaders, including six tanks.
Losses on either side could not be verified and initial battlefield casualty reports often turn out to be exaggerations.
