Ukraine advanced ‘up to 10km’ into Russia: ISW

Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 10 kilometres (six miles) into Russia in possibly the most serious border incursion of the conflict, the Institute for the Study of War said on Thursday.

Pro-Kyiv forces stormed into Russia’s southwestern Kursk region on Tuesday morning, deploying around 1,000 troops and more than two dozen armoured vehicles and tanks, according to the Russian army.

Kyiv has not officially commented on the operation.

Russia’s top general vowed on Wednesday to crush the incursion and push the Ukrainian fighters back to the border.

“Ukrainian forces have made confirmed advances up to 10 kilometres (six miles) into Russia’s Kursk Oblast amid continued mechanised offensive operations on Russian territory,” the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest update.

“The current confirmed extent and location of Ukrainian advances in Kursk Oblast indicate that Ukrainian forces have penetrated at least two Russian defensive lines and a stronghold,” it added.

The advance has centred on the logistical hub of Sudzha, a town of around 5,000 inhabitants located eight kilometres from the Ukrainian border.

There have been scant updates from officials in Moscow.