Russian forces have prevented an attempted border incursion by a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group, the acting governor of Kursk Region, Aleksey Smirnov, has said.
Kiev’s troops tried to cross into Russia from Sumy Region, Smirnov wrote on Telegram on Tuesday. There was fighting in the Sudzhansky and Korneevsky districts of Kursk Region, he added.
Russian border guards and regular forces “have prevented the breach of the frontier,” the acting governor stressed.
Smirnov warned that the failed incursion will likely be followed by a disinformation campaign by Ukraine. He urged the public not to fall for provocations and only trust official sources of information.
The Mash Telegram channel reported that a group of some 100 Ukrainian saboteurs in armored vehicles, including US-made Humvees, approached the Russian border in the area of the Sudzhansky district at around 9am local time.
The fighters were armed with American M4 automatic rifles and also carried grenades and C4 explosives, Mash said. The Ukrainians lost up to 20 troops as they retreated, according to the channel.
The attempt to breach the border was preceded by shelling of the Russian town of Sudzha by Kiev’s forces, the Shot Telegram channel reported. Five people, including three children, were wounded in the attack, it claimed. Videos from the scene showed damage to several homes and cars in the settlement of around 5,000 people.
The Russian regions of Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk, all of which border Ukraine, have been the target of numerous missile, mortar, and drone attacks by Ukraine since the outbreak of the conflict between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022. The strikes have targeted energy infrastructure and residential areas, resulting in civilian deaths and injuries, as well as the destruction of property.
Kiev’s forces have also tried to enter Russian territory on a number occasions in Kursk and Belgorod Regions. Tensions on the border were especially high in March when the Russian military repelled several attempted incursions in the space of just a week. Ukraine suffered over 1,500 casualties and lost dozens of pieces of equipment, including a number of tanks and APCs, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.