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Russia claims that cross-border attacks by Ukrainian troops are taking place in the Kursk region. However, Kiev has so far said nothing about these reports.
The Russian Defense Ministry says the attack began on Tuesday and continued Wednesday night, with Ukrainian forces advancing north-west from Sudzha, a border town more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) from Moscow.
The acting governor of the Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, said he had declared a state of emergency in the region, but it was unclear what measures that entailed.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, who met with military officials on Wednesday, said the events in Kursk amounted to a “large-scale provocation.” His officials said their forces were repelling the attacks.
According to the Associated Press news agency, the claims from Russia could not immediately be verified.
Previous raids
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy enters his late night video speech on Wednesday made no mention of the attack, but called on Kiev soldiers to push ahead and weaken Russian forces.
The Ukrainian General Staff also made no statements about the situation in its daily battlefield update, but did report that Russia has deployed more fighter jets against the Ukrainian region of Sumy, just across the border.
In Washington, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said: declined to comment on the reports and said the Biden administration has reached out to the Ukrainians to better understand what happened.
At the United Nations in New York, deputy UN spokesman Farhan Haq said said developments in the Kursk region ran the risk of “an alarming escalation of the crisis, and we want the situation to be de-escalated as much as possible.”
From crashed plane parts and bullet-riddled helmets to uniform patches, a volunteer group in Kiev is selling Russian battlefield items to raise money for the war effort and buy drones for Ukraine.
Russian forces have quickly repelled previous cross-border incursions, but not before causing damage and embarrassing authorities.
Two shadowy groups are responsible for previous incursions into Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk regions: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Legion of Freedom of Russia. These groups are made up of Russian citizens and have fought alongside Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine’s grueling struggle
In February 2022, Russia started an all-out war with Ukraine. Almost 30 months later, the conflict still shows no signs of ending.
Late last month, the UN estimated that the war had killed at least 11,430 civilians inside Ukraine’s borders and wounded more than 23,000 others. But the real numbers are probably considerably higher.
Ukraine has faced many challenges in its attempts to repel Russian invaders from its territory. This task is far from complete and has not become any easier for Kiev in the third year of the war.
For months, aid from Washington was delayed by conflicts among U.S. lawmakers, leaving Ukraine short of ammunition and supplies.
Russia, meanwhile, has played to its advantage over its outmatched neighbor: it launched an offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region this spring, forcing Kiev to send reinforcements and spread itself thinly across the meandering front line. Russia has also used glide bombs and drones to launch devastating attacks on Ukrainian soil.
Kiev has also struggled to find new troops to join the fight. But the Ukrainian government has also taken steps to address problems related to conscription, recently reporting an increase in recruitment. Some convicts have also been allowed to serve in the army.
Ukraine recently welcomed the delivery of a small number of F-16 fighter jets, a long-awaited development for Kiev.
Looking ahead, Kiev must reckon with the implications of a coming change in the White House. US President Joe Biden has been a strong supporter of Ukraine’s fight with Russia, but his departure from the presidential ballot means the Oval Office will have a new occupant next year.
Former US President Donald Trump is running to return to the presidency as the Republican candidate. He is running against US Vice President Kamala Harris, who served in the Biden administration, which has so far provided tens of billions of dollars in aid to Ukraine.
