Putin accuses Ukraine of “major provocation” in Kursk region
Make us a preferred source
Make us a preferred source on Google
The news: Russian President Vladimir Putin said an ongoing Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region that began Tuesday morning was “a major provocation.”
The numbers: A force of several hundred Ukrainian soldiers had crossed a lightly defended part of the border on Tuesday, The Guardian reported, citing Russian sources and media.
A pro-Kremlin military blog cited by The Associated Press said the troops had advanced up to 15km into Russian territory and engaged in heavy fighting with Russian forces.
According to Russian news agencies cited by AP, army chief of staff Valery Gerasimov told Putin at the meeting that about 100 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in battle and more than 200 wounded.
Russian officials also said the attacks on Tuesday had killed five civilians and wounded 24 others, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.
It was not possible to independently verify the Russian claims, the non-Russian agencies said.
The context: Military analysts told The New York Times the attack appeared aimed at diverting Russian units away from the front lines, in a risky strategy to ease the strain on Ukrainian forces who are struggling to hold back Russian advances.
The fighting was centred around Sudzha, a town about 60 kilometres away from Russia’s Kursk nuclear power station and the last operational transhipping point for Russian gas exports to Europe via Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported.
At a meeting with top defence and security officials on Wednesday, Putin described “indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings, residential houses, ambulances with different types of weapons,” and ordered enhanced support for the Kursk region, the AP reported.
Ukrainian officials have not confirmed the operations, which could be the largest counterattack on Russian soil since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The sources: Al Jazeera, The Guardian, The Associated Press, The New York Times
