Russia says Ukrainian forces crossed into its territory, launched ‘large-scale offensive’

CNN
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Russia has accused Ukrainian forces of crossing the border into the Kursk region, which, if confirmed, would be the first such incursion from Ukraine and put pressure on Moscow in an area largely unaffected by the two-year war.

The Russian Defense Ministry, Russia’s Investigative Committee and Russia’s Children’s Commissioner said Ukrainian forces launched a “massive offensive” on Tuesday, trying to break through Russian defenses on the Kursk region border, just north of Ukraine’s Sumy region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called the alleged incursion a “large-scale provocation,” saying Kyiv carried out “indiscriminate fire from various types of weapons, including missiles, at civilian buildings, residential buildings and ambulances.”

Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the allegations, and CNN has not been able to independently verify them.

It remains unclear the extent of the offensive, including whether Ukrainian forces have captured any settlements or damaged any strategic targets. It is also unclear whether any Ukrainian soldiers remain on Russian territory.

Russian authorities and military bloggers said Ukrainian forces attacked by land and air to enter Russia near the town of Sudzha, a town of 5,000 people about 6 miles (10 kilometers) from the border.

A geolocated video shows widespread destruction at the border crossing southeast of Sudja, as well as shelling damage in the city itself. Another geolocated video shows Ukrainian forces on the city’s outskirts, though it is unclear whether they have entered or taken control of it.

The Russian Defense Ministry said about 300 soldiers, backed by tanks and armored vehicles, attacked Russian positions near the villages of Nikolayevo-Daryno and Oleshnya.

The ministry initially said the attack had been repelled, but that statement was later corrected to say “the enemy is sustaining fire damage.”

Later on Wednesday, the RIA Novosti news agency quoted the chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, as telling Putin that “the advance of the Ukrainian armed forces deep into Russian territory has been stopped.”

Several thousand people have left the region in the past 24 hours, acting head of the Kursk region Alexei Smirnov said on Wednesday.

It is not yet clear what prompted Ukrainian forces to launch an attack of this magnitude, as described by Russian authorities.

Ukrainian forces have found themselves under increasing pressure along the 600-mile front line as Moscow continues to Slow and grind attackThus, it may be an attempt to divert Russian resources elsewhere. Given the growing wave of negative developments on the front line, news of a successful incursion helps Kyiv boost the morale of its troops and civilians.

A Russian military blogger named Rebar reported that the Ukrainian military had taken control of a gas terminal near the border. The blogger said the terminal is the only way gas flows from Russia to Ukraine and on to Europe. CNN could not confirm the report.

The EU has imposed wide-ranging economic sanctions on Russia – excluding major natural gas imports. The EU has been dependent on Russian gas, and while it has cut its imports from Russia from 45% of total gas imports in 2021 to 15% of EU gas imports in 2023, some Russian gas still flows to Europe via Ukraine, despite the war.

If confirmed, Any attack would represent a major development in the conflict – even if its immediate impact were limited.

Although there have been reports of pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups crossing into Russia, none have caused significant damage. The Ukrainian military has regularly attacked targets inside Russia with drones and missiles, but Kyiv has not launched any formal ground incursions across the border in the two and a half years since the full-scale war began.

The Institute for the Study of War, a U.S.-based conflict monitoring group, said it had located footage posted on Aug. 6 showing damaged and abandoned armored vehicles about 4.3 miles (7 kilometers) north of the border, but said it could not confirm whether they were Russian, Ukrainian or both.

Meanwhile, Russian forces are slowly advancing toward the strategically important city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, threatening a vital Ukrainian supply line. At the same time, Russian forces claim to have captured the village of New York and are closing in on Toretsk.