Ground battles between Russia and Ukraine have persisted for a second day in the border region of Kursk Oblast, located in southwestern Russia. This marks the largest battle on Russian soil since the Ukraine crisis began in February 2022.
According to reports from RIA Novosti and Reuters, the Russian Defense Ministry announced yesterday via Telegram that operations to eliminate Ukrainian forces in the Kursk border area were ongoing overnight. They added that Russian aviation, rockets, missiles, and artillery had repelled attempts by Ukrainian forces to penetrate deep into Russian territory.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian forces suffered losses of up to 260 personnel and 50 pieces of military equipment, including 7 tanks, 8 armored personnel carriers, 3 infantry fighting vehicles, and 31 armored combat vehicles. They also claimed to have defeated Ukrainian reserves in Sumy, close to the border with Kursk.
Earlier that morning, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukraine had conducted airstrikes in the Kursk border area and claimed to have destroyed 11 Ukrainian drones that flew into Russian territories, including Kursk, Voronezh, Belgorod, and Rostov overnight.
Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor of the region, reported on Telegram that Russian air defense systems shot down three drones in the Kursk border area. He also noted that air raid alerts were issued 12 times over the past 24 hours.
The Russian Defense Ministry also announced that they repelled an attack by over 300 Ukrainian soldiers on a village near the Kursk border. The Ukrainian forces, supported by tanks and armored vehicles, were countered by Russian reserves and deployed to the combat zone to assist.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin chaired a government meeting where he was the first to address the shelling situation in the Kursk region. He accused Ukraine of carrying out “yet another large-scale provocation” at the Russian border. Putin also alleged that Ukraine had indiscriminately fired various types of weapons, including missiles, at civilian buildings, residential areas, and ambulances.
Putin subsequently instructed First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov to implement operations to assist local residents immediately.
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