“The Ukra, deploying ground troops to the Russian border… “The biggest attack since the beginning of the war”

AP Newsis It was reported that Ukraine carried out the largest attack since the start of the war in the south-west of Russia, its border region, on the 6th. The analysis is that Ukraine, which has recently been involved in defense on the eastern front, is making a big effort to turn the situation around. Russia said Ukraine was “attacked but has already been repelled.”

According to the British Financial Times (FT), at around 8 a.m. today, the Russian Ministry of Defense said, “Ukrainian troops attacked border troops near Nikolaevo-Darino and Oleshnya regions in Kursk Oblast, where guards Russian borders established, and Russian troops defeated them.”

Today’s attack is considered to be one of the largest ground attacks by Ukraine directly targeting Russian territory since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukraine deployed 11 tanks and 20 combat vehicles to engage in ground combat. Reuters reported, “Ukraine has periodically attacked Russia with missiles and drones, but territorial attacks using ground forces are rare.”

Kursk Acting Governor Alexei Smirnov said on social media, “Russian forces have prevented the Ukrainian ground offensive, but Kursk Oblast is under large-scale drone and missile attacks.” He added, “This is a controllable situation, let’s be sorry.” Kursk Oblast authorities said five people were killed and more than 20 wounded in the attack.

On the other hand, a prominent Russian military blogger rejected a claim that the Russian army had been pushed back early on the 7th, saying, “The Kursk region is still in a difficult situation,” and “Ukrainian troops have established themselves there the border area despite the intense attack of the Russian army.”

Ukraine has not commented on this attack. However, Andriy Kovalenko, the director of the National Security and Defense Committee of Ukraine, wrote on social media, “It is a lie to say that Russia can control the situation in the region. “

The FT analyzed this attack as “an active crime by Ukraine, which has recently been pushed back by Russia, to change the situation.” Recently, Russia has been reporting news about the occupation of towns in Donetsk Oblast, eastern Ukraine. According to the FT, the Russian army, which has been engaged in a major offensive since May, has more than twice taken over the territory ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ has been engaged in a major offensive by the Ukrainian army in the summer. last year.

Reporter Kim Bora purple@donga.com