Ukrainians gain ground in Russia

Russia's army was fighting a major Ukrainian border incursion for the third day running, Moscow said yesterday, with independent analysts saying Kyiv's troops had advanced up to 10 kilometers into Russia.

Pro-Kyiv forces stormed into Kursk region on Tuesday with 1,000 troops and more than two dozen armored vehicles and tanks, the Russian army said.

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

The US-based Institute for the Study of War said "Ukrainian forces have penetrated at least two Russian defensive lines and a stronghold."

Kyiv has not taken responsibility for the operation, but an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Moscow was to blame for the incursion.

"The root cause of any escalation, shelling, military actions, forced evacuations and destruction - including within the Russian Federation's own territories like Kursk and Belgorod regions - is solely Russia's unequivocal aggression," presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said on social media.

Without mentioning the Kursk attacks, Zelensky himself said Wednesday: "The more pressure we put on Russia the closer we will get to peace. A just peace through just force."

ASSOCIATED PRESS