Moscow. The Russian military said Sunday it had halted the advance of Ukrainian troops near three towns in its Kursk region, some 30 kilometres from the border with the former Soviet republic.
In a statement, the army said it had prevented “attempts to advance” by enemy “mobile armoured groups” near the towns of Tolpino, Juravli and Obshchi Kolodez.
The advances have been halted in the past 24 hours by air strikes, drones and artillery, and the deployment of reserves from the “North” grouping, deployed in the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, according to the same source.
The Russian military also said it had shelled Ukrainian troops near four other towns with missiles and artillery and prevented them from advancing in the Belovski district further east.
kyiv launched a large-scale operation in Russia’s Kursk border region on Tuesday, after months of retreating in the face of Russian military forces on Ukraine’s eastern front.
According to analysts, Ukrainian units have penetrated up to 15 km into Russian territory and captured several towns.
Russia launched “anti-terrorist operations” in the Russian regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk on Saturday to stop the ground incursion.
The Ukrainian incursion is aimed at “stretching” the Kremlin’s forces and “destabilising” Russia, a senior Ukrainian security official told AFP on Saturday.
Thousands of soldiers are taking part in this offensive, the same source indicated.
