Russia says Ukrainian troops crossed into its territory and launched ‘massive attack’

Russia has accused Ukrainian troops of crossing the border into the country's Kursk region and launching a "massive attack," which would mark the first incursion of its kind from Ukraine.

An "emergency situation" has been declared by the region's active governor, Aleksey Smirnov, who said attempts to defend the border area remains "difficult".

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the alleged incursion, north of Ukraine’s Sumy region, as a "large-scale provocation".

He said Kyiv conducted “indiscriminate shooting from various types of weapons, including missiles, at civilian buildings, residential buildings, and ambulances”.

Ukrainian authorities did not comment on the claims. The extent of the attack, including whether Ukrainian troops took over any settlements or caused damage, remains unclear.

It is also not clear whether any Ukrainian soldiers remained on Russian territory.

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Russian authorities said Ukrainian forces attacked by land and air to enter Russia near the town of Sudzha, a town that lies about 6 miles from the border.

The Russian Ministry of Health says that 31 people, including six children, were injured as a result of Ukrainian shelling in the Kursk region.

Acting governor of Russia’s Kursk region, Aleksey Smirnov, says he has “decided to introduce an emergency situation in the Kursk region from August 7”.

He added in a Telegram post: "To eliminate the consequences of the entry of enemy forces into the territory of the region, I decided to introduce an emergency situation.”

The Ukrainian military has regularly attacked targets inside Russia with drones and missiles, but Kyiv has not launched any official ground incursions across the border in the two and half years since the start of the full-scale war.

Russian forces have meanwhile been inching toward the strategically important city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, threatening a vital Ukrainian supply line.

At the same time, Russian forces claim to have seized the village of Niu York and are getting closer to Toretsk.

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