- Chief of General Staff: 1,000 Ukrainian troops in Russia
Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimov, has put the number of Ukrainian soldiers in the border region of Kursk at up to 1,000. He stated that at least 100 of them have been killed and 215 injured, during a video conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, broadcast on the Kremlin's Telegram news channel. The Kremlin leader was briefed on the situation in the Kursk region, which is under attack from neighboring Ukraine. No information was provided on Russian losses.
Gerasimov stated that the Ukrainian advance had been halted. "The operation will be concluded with the destruction of the enemy and the return to the state border," he announced. The Ministry of Defense in Moscow had previously claimed that there had been no breakthrough by Ukrainian forces. Now, the military has acknowledged that units have entered Russian territory.
Russian military bloggers reported that the advance was continuing and that eleven settlements were under enemy control. This was neither confirmed by official sources nor independently verifiable. According to official reports, at least 3 people have been killed and more than 20 injured in the fighting that has been ongoing since Tuesday.
Russian authorities reported that thousands of people have fled the shelled settlements. There was initially no official response from Kyiv. Ukraine has repeatedly attacked targets in the neighboring country as part of its defensive struggle against the Russian invasion. According to statements from Kyiv, these attacks are usually aimed at disrupting military supplies from Russia. The attacked country has repeatedly emphasized that it is focusing on liberating occupied territories, but not attacking Russia.
The Kursk, specifically the border region, has been under attack from neighboring Ukraine, as mentioned during the video conference between Valery Gerasimov and Vladimir Putin. Despite previous claims by the Ministry of Defense in Moscow, Russian military has acknowledged that Ukrainian units have managed to enter Russian territory near The Kursk.
