Ukrainian forces have launched a major incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, according to Russian officials, in what could be a major escalation in the war.
Kursk, which lies just beyond the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine, has been under direct attack by Ukrainian troops since Tuesday night, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a Telegram post.
Russian forces mainly repelled the advance of the Ukrainian force, which included 260 militants and 50 units of armored vehicles, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Russian military blogger Rybar said on Telegram that Ukrainian forces have occupied several settlements in Kursk and are advancing towards the city of Sudzha. Ukrainian troops are also advancing towards the settlements of Nikolayevo-Darino, east of Sudzha.
At least 28 people were killed in the attacks in the region, which is under a state of emergency, Russian state media reported.
Alexei Smirnov, acting governor of the Kursk region, said the situation “remains tense” in a Telegram post.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is holding an emergency meeting on the Kursk attacks, according to Smirnov.
Ukrainian authorities have not publicly commented on the news. At the request of the US, Kiev has not sent troops directly to Russia and does not attack Russian territory with US or allied weapons unless it involves a cross-border attack.
A direct Ukrainian attack would frustrate Washington, which has been trying to prevent the war from escalating. Putin is likely to respond with aggression if Ukrainian forces mount a direct attack on a Russian region.
Anti-Kremlin Russian groups have already crossed into Russia’s border regions to stage attacks, but Russian military blogger Alexander Kots wrote that “very specific brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces” entered Russia, calling it a full-fledged military operation.
“It is not a sabotage and reconnaissance group, not a terrorist squad, but regular troops from a neighboring state. And they don’t hide it,” he wrote on Telegram.
The Kursk attacks may have been aimed at preventing Russian forces from mounting an offensive in the Sumy region, where reports indicated that Moscow could launch another attack.
Ukraine is already defending its territory along the 600-mile front from Russian forces, including an offensive in May that began in the northeast region of Kharkiv, neighboring Sumy.
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