Russia battling major Ukrainian cross-border incursion for third day

State of emergency declared in southestern region amid fighting that began on Tuesday.

Russia said it has been battling a significant cross-border incursion for the third consecutive day as Ukrainian troops advance in the Kursk region.

Russia’s Ministry of Defence said on Thursday its troops were “continuing to destroy” armed Ukrainian units and were using air strikes, rocket and artillery fire to try to push them back.

It said it had rushed in reserves and was “thwarting attempts to break through” deeper into the Kursk region.

Alexey Smirnov, the region’s acting governor, said he had announced a state of emergency after pro-Ukrainian forces stormed into the region on Tuesday, deploying about 1,000 soldiers and more than two dozen armoured vehicles and tanks, according to the Russian army.

Without mentioning the Kursk attacks, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Wednesday: “The more pressure we put on Russia … the closer we will get to peace. A just peace through just force.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of a “major provocation”.