Fighting in the Russian region of Kursk was still ongoing on Wednesday, the Russian defence ministry confirmed.
ADVERTISEMENTHundreds of Ukrainian soldiers conducted an incursion across the border into Russia, engaging in combat inside Moscow's territory on Tuesday morning local time, according to the Kremlin.
Although Moscow originally claimed it pushed back the incursion, the assault has continued into Wednesday, with Russian military bloggers claiming that fighting has spread further into Russia and reaching the village of Sverdlikovo, some 15 kilometres from the border.
The Russian defence ministry confirmed that fighting was still ongoing at midday on Wednesday.
Members of Ukraine’s 22nd mechanised brigade launched an attack between the border villages of Nikolayevo-Daryino and Oleshnya in the Kursk region of Russia, supported by “11 tanks and more than 20 armoured fighting vehicles,” the ministry said.
The clashes originally extended as far as the outskirts of Sudzha, a town of some 5,000 people about 10 kilometres from the border near Ukraine's region of Sumy.
The assault was backed by drones and missile strikes, according to Moscow.
At least five civilians were killed, and some 28 were injured, mostly in Sudzha and Korenevo districts, Russian state-owned news agency Tass said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called a meeting with his security officials on Wednesday in response to the incursion, labelling the attack as a "large-scale provocation". He also accused Ukrainian forces of attacking civilian targets.
None of the claims or casualty reports could be independently confirmed.
'Russia is not in control'
Kyiv did not immediately comment on the alleged incursion. However, Ukrainian National Security and Defence Council official Andrii Kovalenko said Russia was not in control of its border.
"Russian military commanders lie about controlling the situation in Kursk Oblast," Kovalenko wrote in the Telegram post.
This is not the first time Ukrainian forces have entered Russian territory. In March, exiled pro-Ukraine Russian fighters attacked Belgorod and Kursk regions but were pushed back with no gains to show.
Questions remain over the benefits of similar actions, aside from shock value and forcing parts of Russian troops to move troops from elsewhere to bolster their defences back home.