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Russia says it is dealing with a cross-border invasion by Ukraine into the Kursk region.
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According to experts, Ukraine has advanced more than ten kilometers into Russia, crossing important defense lines.
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Ukraine has not commented on the operation, which deviates from usual tactics.
Ukraine has managed to break through at least two Russian defense lines and bypass a stronghold in an unprecedented attack on Russian territory, experts say.
The Institute for the Study of War provided its assessment of the surprise offensive in an update on Wednesday.
“The current confirmed scale and location of Ukrainian advances in Kursk Oblast indicate that Ukrainian forces have penetrated at least two Russian defense lines and one stronghold,” the report said. It did not give the name or location of the stronghold.
Russian officials acknowledged the operation on Tuesday, saying it was a cross-border attack.
Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, said on Wednesday that about 1,000 Russian soldiers were involved in the counterattack.
Ukraine has not officially acknowledged the attack, although some officials have reported it indirectly.
The offensive is highly unusual: Ukraine has fought Russia almost exclusively on its own territory since Russia’s large-scale invasion in February 2022.
The ISW reported on Wednesday that Ukrainian troops had advanced as far as 10 kilometers into the region, citing images from Ukrainian armored vehicles.
It is not clear how strong the Russian defense lines were.
Russia may not have been prepared for such an attack, given its rarity.
Ukraine’s counterattacks against Russia usually involve the use of long-range weapons, such as drones or Western-supplied missiles, rather than ground troops.
Some Russian military bloggers – key sources of news in the suppressed Russian media – were angry that Russia appeared so ill-prepared, The Moscow Times reported.
The US, one of Ukraine’s biggest allies, also appeared surprised.
A US State Department spokesman, Matthew Miller, said on Wednesday that the US had received no advance warning.
He said: “It is not uncommon for Ukrainians not to disclose their exact tactics before they implement them,” noting that Ukraine does not appear to be violating any agreements with the US.
US officials have insisted that Ukraine not use the donated long-range weapons against targets deep inside Russia.
Ukrainian officials and analysts are angry about the restriction, saying it gives Russia an advantage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin responded to Ukraine’s advance by calling it a “large-scale provocation.”
The US was not very sympathetic. Miller responded by saying: “It’s a bit of an exaggeration that they call it a provocation, since Russia first violated the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine.”
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