kyiv, Ukraine (AP) — Russian officials said Wednesday they were fighting off Ukrainian cross-border incursions in a southwestern border province for a second day, while officials in kyiv remained tight-lipped about the scope of the operation.
The head of Russia’s Kursk region has urged locals to donate blood amid the intense fighting.
“Over the past 24 hours, our region has heroically resisted attacks” by Ukrainian fighters, Alexei Smirnov, acting governor of Kursk, said on Telegram, adding that all emergency services were on alert.
If confirmed, the alleged cross-border operation could lead to Russia diverting resources to the area, weakening Moscow’s offensive in several areas of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where Russian forces have stepped up their attacks to take advantage of the remainder of the summer fighting season.
But it could also risk spreading Ukraine’s outnumbered troops too thin along the front, which is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) long.
Russian forces have quickly repelled other cross-border incursions, but not before they caused damage and embarrassed authorities.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Tuesday that up to 300 Ukrainian soldiers, backed by 11 tanks and more than 20 armoured fighting vehicles, had crossed into Russia. It added that the contingent had suffered heavy casualties, without commenting further on Wednesday.
The ministry said Wednesday that military personnel and border guards “continue to destroy Ukrainian military units in areas along the border in the Kursk region.”
Russian forces supported by artillery and fighter aircraft “did not allow the enemy to advance further into the territory of the Russian Federation,” the statement said. “The operation to destroy Ukrainian military units continues.”
Officials in kyiv declined to comment, and it was not possible to verify the Russian claims.
Independent observers have been unable to verify the reports. The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War was unable to verify whether footage of damaged and abandoned vehicles, with geographic data placing the scene seven kilometers north of the border west of Lyubimovka in the Kursk region, showed Ukrainian material.
The think tank also questioned images shared by Russian military bloggers purporting to show the effects of Ukrainian assaults. Most of the damage “appears to be the result of routine Ukrainian shell fire and does not indicate any ground activity in the area,” the think tank said in its daily report.
Two previous raids on Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk regions were claimed by two little-known groups, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Russian Freedom Legion, made up of Russian citizens who have fought alongside Ukrainian forces.
Disinformation and propaganda have played a major role in the war, which is now in its third year.
Some Russian war bloggers who have proven to be informed about the war said that there were Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk.
Rybar, a Telegram channel run by Mikhail Zvinchuk, a retired press officer for the Russian Defense Ministry, said Ukrainian troops had captured three towns in the region and were continuing to advance further into the territory.
Another pro-Kremlin military blog, Two Majors, claimed Ukrainian troops had advanced 15 kilometers (10 miles) into the region.
None of the claims could be independently verified.
The Kursk region has a 245-kilometer (150-mile) border with Ukraine, making it possible to launch quick incursions and control some ground before Russia deploys reinforcements.
