Russia said on Sunday that Ukraine had launched a counter-attack in the Kursk region, an area of western Russia from which Russian troops have been trying to eject Ukrainian forces for the past five months.
Ukrainian troops broke across the border in a surprise incursion on August 6 and have managed to hold on to a chunk of territory there which could provide Kyiv with an important bargaining chip in potential peace talks.
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces were beating back the Ukrainian forces but some reports from Russian military bloggers suggested the Russian side had come under heavy pressure.
Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, posted on Telegram that there was “good news” from Kursk, adding: “Russia is getting what it deserves.”
Andriy Kovalenko, the head of Ukraine’s official Centre Against Disinformation, wrote on Telegram that Russian troops were attacked in several places.
The Russian statement said Ukraine attacked early on Sunday near the village of Berdin with two tanks, a mine-clearing vehicle and 12 armoured combat vehicles with paratroops.