Ukraine has launched a new offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, according to the Kremlin.
The attack looks to be an effort to seize new territory after Ukrainian troops swept across the border in a shock offensive in the same region in August, claiming control of almost 500 sq miles (around 1,300 sq km) and taking hundreds of prisoners of war.
The Kremlin has since taken back a chunk of its own land but struggled to fully expel the invading troops, even deploying thousands of North Korean soldiers in recent weeks.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously spoken of his plans to hold onto the territory and use it as a bargaining chip in potential peace talks.
In a statement, the Russian defence ministry said Ukraine launched the attack on Sunday morning with an assault group consisting of two tanks, a mine clearing vehicle, and twelve armoured combat vehicles with paratroops.
“Artillery and aviation of the North group of [Russian] forces defeated the assault group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” it added, claiming two Ukrainian attacks had been repelled.
In a Telegram update, Andriy Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, said: “The Defence Forces are actively working. The situation in the Kursk region seems to be causing significant concern among the Russians, as they were unexpectedly attacked on several fronts.”
Andriy Yermak, head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, said: “Kursk region, good news: Russia is getting what it deserves.”
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Reports from Russia’s influential war bloggers, who support Moscow’s war in Ukraine but have often reported critically on failings and setbacks, suggested that the latest Ukrainian assault had put Russian forces on the defensive.
“Despite strong pressure from the enemy, our units are heroically holding the line,” the Operativnye Svodki (Operational Reports) channel said.
It said artillery and small-arms battles were taking place, and Ukraine was using Western-armoured vehicles to bring in large numbers of infantry.
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The defence ministry and bloggers said fighting was concentrated just north of a highway that runs from Sudzha, near the border, to Kursk, the regional capital.
One prominent blogger, Yuri Podolyak, said this was most likely a Ukrainian distraction manoeuvre, possibly to prepare a strike on Glushkovo, further west, and he urged civilians there and in another town, Korenevo, to evacuate.
The offensive follows months of setbacks for Ukraine. Since the surprise incursion into Russia in August, the military has been beset by low morale and manpower amid a barrage of Russian attacks.
