Kiev launches cross-border attack into Kursk Region – governor
Ukrainian forces have attempted a second incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region in the last 48 hours, officials reported on Thursday. A similar operation took place on Tuesday and ended in failure.
Russian border guards and military troops will not allow “Ukrainian terrorists” to enter the country, Governor Roman Starovoyt said on social media, adding that fighting was ongoing near the village of Tyotkino.
The Russian National Guard said its units, along with Federal Security Service (FSB) border guards, were “repelling an attack” in the area.
On Tuesday, several militia forces backed by Kiev tried to cross the border into the regions of Kursk and Belgorod, with the stated goal of disrupting the Russian presidential election scheduled for this week.
The Defense Ministry said Russian security forces eliminated 234 fighters, seven tanks, three Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and two armored personnel carriers while repelling the incursion.
Tyotkino, which is located on the border with Ukraine, was the subject of a failed propaganda stunt by the militias, one of which released a video claiming to show its fighters inside the settlement. This was quickly disproven, as geolocation data confirmed that the video was filmed in a nearby Ukrainian village.
Three separate groups, which are purportedly made up of Russian nationals collaborating with Kiev, claimed responsibility for the operation on Tuesday.
Earlier on Thursday, the FSB reported the arrests of four members of one of the groups in St. Petersburg. The “terrorist cell” of the so-called ‘Russian Volunteer Corps’ (RDK) was allegedly planning to poison food meant for Russian soldiers. The agency described RDK as a proxy force of Ukrainian military intelligence, which it held responsible for the plot.
