Reports of fighting in Kursk region. White House: We will ask Kiev about attack on Russian territory

Russia said Wednesday it was fighting intensely against Ukrainian forces that had infiltrated its southern border. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin referring on Wednesday for the first time to reports of an attack that have been appearing for two days Ukraine in the Kursk region of Russia, he spoke of a “large-scale provocation.”

– I will start with the events in Kursk Oblast. As is known, the Kiev regime has launched another large-scale provocation, massively shelling civilian buildings, residential homes, and ambulances with various types of weapons, including missiles – Putin said at a meeting with the Russian government. He announced that on Wednesday he would discuss the situation in the region with the heads of law enforcement and military structures, and appealed for assistance to the residents of the region and its authorities. A fragment of Putin's speech was shown by the RIA Novosti news agency.

In Kursk region, as reported on Telegram by acting governor Alexey Smirnov, it was announced on Wednesday state of emergency.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement Tuesday that about 300 Ukrainian soldiers from the 22nd Mechanized Brigade were trying to get into Kursk Oblast. The Ukrainian forces were supposed to launch an attack Tuesday morning with the support of 11 tanks and 20 armored fighting vehicles.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Ukrainians attacked the positions of Russian border guard units in the area of ​​the village adjacent to the border with Ukraine (in Sumy Oblast).

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on Tuesday that “an armed provocation took place on the border in Kursk Oblast, but the Russian border guards and military repelled the attack.”

On Wednesday morning, the Rybar Telegram channel, which is close to the Russian Defense Ministry, reported that Ukrainian forces had taken over three villages in Kursk Oblast. According to these reports, Ukrainian soldiers had taken over the towns of Nikolayev-Darjino, Darjino and Sverdlikovo.

Up to 400 Ukrainian soldiers have entered the territory of Kursk Oblast, and about two thousand are near the border, Rybar said, assessing that “the events in Kursk Oblast indicate that the Ukrainian operation has been prepared for a long time and – judging by the number of soldiers near the border – it may last at least several more days.”

The independent Russian website Meduza, based on videos posted on social media, assessed that the attackers in the “largest Ukrainian operation on Russian territory” were opposed by “exceptionally weak forces” consisting of the border guard and one of the border protection regiments created last year, which does not have armored vehicles.

The portal reports that by Wednesday evening, the Ukrainian side had captured the Sudzha checkpoint on the border of the Sumy and Kursk regions, taking several dozen Russian border guards prisoner; a gas measuring station near Sudzha, part of the infrastructure of the main Russian gas pipeline pumping gas to Europe through Ukrainian territory, was also captured. This information has not yet been confirmed by official Russian or Ukrainian sources.

Meduza claims that the main group of Ukrainians moved towards Rylsk, capturing two nearby villages, Leonidova and Zelienyi Shlyakh. “Russian 'war correspondents' reported that units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reached the outskirts of Koryenev, but this is not confirmed information,” the portal writes, adding that “despite the panic of 'war correspondents', the Ukrainian Armed Forces have not yet entered (and may not have even tried to) Sudzha itself,” although they approached it at least from the west, and possibly from the south. Ukrainian shelling allegedly seriously damaged apartment blocks.

READ ALSO: Russians talk about “armed provocation”, Kiev is silent. What is happening in Kursk region?

Officially, Kiev has not yet commented on the Russian reports on the fighting in Kursk Oblast. However, Ukrainian bloggers and military analysts have reported on them. Renowned expert and journalist Yuri Butusov reported that the Ukrainians may have captured several Russian soldiers during the fighting. He noted, however, that there is no official information on this matter.

The Ukrainian website NV wrote that military intelligence in Kiev refused to comment on the “breakthrough” of Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast. The source only revealed that “members of the Russian Volunteer Corps, a formation that is part of the Ukrainian armed forces, definitely did not participate in these actions.”