Ukrainian Troops Now 30 Kilometers Inside Russian Territory

Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 30km inside Russia, in what has become the the deepest and most significant incursion since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had engaged Ukrainian troops near the villages of Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez, as the offensive in the Kursk region entered a sixth day.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Kyiv of “intimidating the peaceful population of Russia”.

Overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky directly acknowledged the attack for the first time, saying Ukraine was pushing the war to “the aggressor’s territory”.

He went on to thank Ukraine’s “warriors” and said he had discussed the operation in Russia with the country’s top military commander – Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi.

A senior Ukrainian official told the AFP news agency that thousands of troops were engaged in the operation, far more than the small incursion initially reported by Russian border guards.

While Ukrainian-backed sabotage groups have launched intermittent cross-border incursions, the Kursk offensive marks the biggest co-ordinated attack on Russian territory by Kyiv’s conventional forces.

Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday that its forces had “foiled attempts by enemy mobile groups with armoured vehicles to break through deep into Russian territory”.

But in an apparent admission that Kyiv’s forces have now advanced deep into the Kursk border region, the defence ministry reported engaging Ukrainian troops near the villages of Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez – which are about 25km and 30km from the Russia-Ukraine border.

Footage circulating online and verified by the BBC also appeared to show a Russian strike near the village of Levshinka, around 25km from the border.