Ukraine troops enter Russia, taking territory and prisoners

What was first thought to be a small cross-border raid by Ukraine into Russia is now the deepest incursion into enemy territory made by either side since the war began. Kyiv is being pretty tight-lipped about the operation, but Russian military bloggers are not. As is usually the case, much of the information coming from the front lines can’t be independently verified, but here’s how the picture is shaping up.

The operation started in the early morning hours of Aug. 6 when Ukraine sent hundreds of troops across the border from Sumy Oblast in northern Ukraine into Russia’s Kursk Oblast. Using combined tactics of artillery fire, electronic warfare and coordinated drone swarms, Ukrainian troops were able to push at least 5 miles into Russian territory, possibly even up to 9 miles in some locations.

Video released by Ukraine’s armed forces shows dozens of Russian soldiers surrendering to Ukrainian troops. One Russian posted a video of himself driving around the abandoned town of Sudzha while his vehicle was under constant small arms fire.

Russia said Ukrainian shelling in the region has killed two people so far and injured 24, including a Kremlin-connected war correspondent whose vehicle was struck by a Ukrainian FPV drone.

After a visibly upset Vladimir Putin received an update from his defense cabinet on the situation in Kursk, the Russian leader called Ukraine’s actions a “large-scale provocation.”

Russia’s former president, Dmitry Medvedev, said the Kremlin should think about taking all of Ukraine as retribution for the attack.

Ukrainian leadership, meanwhile, is slow to acknowledge the incursion publicly. An aide to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian aggression is the sole root of any escalation. President Zelenskyy praised all of Ukraine’s fighters and said Ukraine’s armed forces still know how to “surprise” the enemy.

As for what the goal of Ukraine’s incursion into Russia could be, it’s still a little murky. Some military analysts said Ukraine is risking an awful lot and gaining very little, other than a morale boost for its beleaguered troops.

There is a nuclear power plant in the region, and Ukrainian troop movements are trending in that direction, so they could try and take that facility and use it as a bargaining chip. Or it could be a distraction meant to draw Russian troops in from other areas of the frontlines, like in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow is coming very close to making what could be considered tactical gains.

While there have been small raids into Russian territory since the war started, those were conducted by Russian nationals fighting on the side of the Ukrainians. This current excursion is being carried out by seasoned Ukrainian soldiers using mechanized brigades and combined tactics. It marks the first time since World War II that Russian territory was invaded by another nation.

Reuters contributed to this report.