The Ukrainian attack on Russian territory in the Kursk region is by far the most serious cross-border assault by Kiev forces of the entire war, and it is now in its third day.
A report by the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) says that Ukrainian troops have advanced up to ten kilometers inside Russian territory, while some unconfirmed reports have claimed further reach.
"Ukrainian forces have made confirmed advances up to 10 kilometers into Russia’s Kursk Oblast amid continued mechanized offensive operations on Russian territory," ISW said in an 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."
The assault kicked off early Tuesday morning and by Wednesday the Ukrainians claimed the capture of Sudzha, which lies about 8km across the Ukraine border, and has a key gas logistical hub in the same city.
Zelensky's office kept quiet as the offensive initially unfolded, but presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak has since said on social media, "The root cause of any escalation, shelling, military actions, forced evacuations and destruction of normal life forms – including within the Russian Federation’s own territories like Kursk and Belgorod regions – is solely Russia’s unequivocal aggression."
Kursk Oblast's governor has declared a formal state of emergency and thousands of civilians in towns and villages near the border have been evacuated amid reports of casualties.
Ukrainian sources have said that during the initial assault, a number of Russian border guards and conscripts surrendered; however, videos of the border fighting also make clear that the Ukraine invading force suffered heavy losses as Russia quickly called in airpower...
One question remains is: why?... given that this is basically a suicide mission. Some Ukraine war analysts have claimed it is at least in part about causing confusion in Russian military ranks and forcing the diversion of resources away from frontlines in the Donbass region, where Moscow forces have steadily advanced of late:
“It wasn’t accidental,” said war expert Kostyantyn Mashovets in a Facebook post. “It’s clearly part of one clear plan."
Mykhaylo Zhyrokhov, a military analyst, agrees. He told the BBC that Russia had been forced to redeploy some troops there from the front line in eastern Ukraine.
“If you look at official reports, there were significantly fewer Russian glide bombs dropped in the Donetsk area,” he said. “That means the aircraft which carry them are now elsewhere in Russia.”
Russian media has meanwhile taken note of a fresh European Union statement lauding the brazen Ukrainian raid on Russian territory, with European Commission spokesman Peter Stano saying the EU fully supports the actions of Ukraine's military.
Pro-Ukraine pundits are in some instances hailing the rapid destruction of Russian military hardware and oil and gas infrastructure...
Stano asserted that Ukraine has the right to defend itself, "including by striking the aggressor on its territory." This is similar to statements of the United States earlier in the conflict when discussing use of Western supplied weapons against Russian territory.
The Kremlin has said its forces killed hundreds of Ukrainian troops in the ongoing assault...
"The EU continues to fully support Ukraine’s legitimate right to defend itself" and win back its lost territories, Stano told a Ukrainian news outlet.