Russian and Ukrainian forces clashed in Russia's Kursk region for a third straight day, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.
Russia has called the fighting one of the largest cross-border offensives by Ukrainian forces during the war that began 2-1/2 years ago with Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on its eastern border with Russia.
But a Defense Ministry statement said Russian military and border guards had blocked Ukrainian forces from advancing further into the Kursk region in southwestern Russia. The report said the military attacked Ukrainian fighters who were trying to advance from the Sumy region of Ukraine.
“Attempts by individual units to break through further into the Kursk region were repelled,” the ministry said.
The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank that closely monitors the Russia-Ukraine war, said that as of Wednesday, Ukrainian forces had advanced as much as 10 kilometers (6 miles) into Russian territory, although that assessment has not been confirmed.
Ukrainian officials have not publicly commented on the fighting in Kursk around the town of Sudzha.
Kursk's acting deputy governor, Andrei Belostotsky, told the RIA-Novosti news agency, “The enemy has not advanced a single meter. On the contrary, they are retreating. The enemy's equipment and combat forces have been destroyed. We hope that in the near future … the enemy will be stopped.”
Russia's defense ministry said it destroyed drones flying over the Kursk and Oryol regions.
Kursk acting governor Alexei Smirnov said Thursday on the Telegram messaging app that Russian air defenses also shot down several Ukrainian missiles the previous night.
Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that Ukrainian drone strikes on two districts damaged an infrastructure facility and a house.
Ukraine's military said Thursday it shot down two Russian missiles and four drones. The interceptions took place over the Kherson, Kirovohrad and Odesa regions, the Ukrainian air force said.
Meanwhile, Kirovohrad Governor Andry Raykovych said on Telegram that there were no reports of damage from the attack in his region.
Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said that in addition to the drone being shot down in his region, Russian forces also fired on Kherson, setting a residential building on fire and damaging several others.
In Dnipropetrovsk, Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that Russian forces targeted the Nikopol area with drones and artillery, damaging several houses. (uh/ab)
