Russia’s military said it was “continuing to repel” a Ukrainian offensive on its western border with Kursk – a surprise attack now in its fourth day.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Ukraine had lost more than 280 soldiers in the past 24 hours – a claim that has not been independently verified.
Reports suggest that Ukrainian forces are operating more than 10km (six miles) inside Russia – the furthest they have crossed the Kyiv border since Moscow launched an all-out offensive in February 2022.
Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged the attack, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Moscow must “feel” the consequences of its attack.
Separately, Ukrainian forces said they struck a military airfield inside Russia overnight, destroying explosives stored in warehouses.
In a statement, the Ukrainian military reported heavy fire and multiple explosions at the Lipetsk airfield, more than 350km (217 miles) from the Ukrainian border, after the overnight strike.
The statement said the airfield was known to host Russian Su-34, Su-35 and MiG-31 fighter jets – but gave no further details about the attack.
The authorities of Lipetsk region said that a state of emergency is now in place in the area, confirming the detonation at the “energy infrastructure center”. Residents of four nearby villages were being evacuated.
In a statement on Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its forces repelled “an attempt by Ukrainian forces to attack the territory of the Russian Federation”.
It said Russia was using aircraft and artillery, able to suppress “attack attempts by enemy units”.
Earlier on Tuesday, a “federal state of emergency” was declared in the Kursk region – a move that underscores how dire the situation is.
Russia said up to 1,000 Ukrainian troops, backed by tanks and armored vehicles, entered the Kursk region on Tuesday morning.
“Russia has brought war to our country and they should know what to do,” Mr Zelensky said in a video address late on Thursday.
“The people of Ukraine know how to achieve their goals. And we did not choose to achieve our goals in war,” he added.
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