KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Fighting continued in Russia’s Kursk region bordering Ukraine on Thursday after a major incursion by Ukrainian forces this week, a senior official in the region said.
Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the scope of the operation around the town of Sudzha. But acting deputy governor Andriy Belostotsky said Russian forces were fighting to prevent Ukrainians from moving deeper into the area.
“The enemy has not advanced a single meter, but on the contrary, is retreating. The enemy’s equipment and combat forces are being destroyed. We are confident that the enemy will be stopped in the near future,” Belostotsky was quoted as saying by the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday described the raid as a “large-scale provocation.”
Putin met with defense and security officials to discuss what he called “indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings, residential houses and ambulances with various types of weapons.” He instructed his government to coordinate assistance for Kursk. The fighting was about 500 kilometers (320 miles) from Moscow.
Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov told Putin in a video conference that about 100 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the battle and more than 200 were wounded, according to Russian news agencies.
Ukrainian shells killed at least two people — a paramedic and an ambulance driver — and wounded 24 others, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement on Wednesday.
The Russian claims could not be independently verified. Disinformation and propaganda have played a central role in the war, now in its third year.
White House National Security spokesman John Kirby declined to comment on the operation and said the Biden administration had contacted Ukrainian authorities to learn more about the situation.
If the cross-border operation is confirmed, it would be among the largest in Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, and unprecedented in terms of the deployment of Ukrainian military units.
Kyiv’s goal may be to divert Russian resources to the region, which could weaken Moscow’s offensive activity in several areas of eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, where Russian forces have increased their attacks and are slowly advancing to gain significant operational advantages.
However, the raid could separate Ukrainian forces on a front more than a thousand kilometers long.
Even if Russia allocates reserves to stabilize the new front, given its massive troop numbers and the relatively small size of Ukrainian forces involved in the operation, it is likely to have little long-term impact.
However, the operation could boost Ukrainian morale at a time when Ukrainian forces are facing sustained Russian attacks that are expected to continue in the coming weeks.
Several Ukrainian brigades stationed on the border said they could not comment. Ukraine’s defense ministry and general staff declined to comment.
Russian forces quickly repelled further cross-border attacks, but not before they caused damage and embarrassed the authorities.
Two little-known groups have claimed responsibility for previous incursions into Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk regions: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Russian Freedom Corps, which were formed by Russian citizens and fought alongside Ukrainian forces.
Some Russian war bloggers who have proven knowledge of the war said that there were Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk.
Rybar, a Telegram channel run by Mikhail Zvenchuk, a retired Russian Defense Ministry press officer, said Ukrainian forces had captured three towns in the area and were continuing to advance further into the region. It said Ukrainian forces had taken control of the Sudzha gas transit station about eight kilometers (five miles) from the border. Russian authorities have not confirmed this.
Another pro-Kremlin military blog, Two Majors, claimed that Ukrainian forces had advanced 15 kilometers (10 miles) into the area.
None of these claims can be independently verified.
The Kursk region has a 245-kilometre (150-mile) border with Ukraine, making it possible to launch quick raids and seize some territory before Russia deploys reinforcements.
“Unapologetic tv specialist. Hardcore zombie trailblazer. Infuriatingly humble problem solver.”