dpa
Moscow
Heavy fighting was reported on the border between Russia and Ukraine on Tuesday, as Moscow said it had used fighter jets and artillery fire to repel a major Ukrainian offensive.
According to Russia, hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers attempted to storm across the border in the southern Russian region of Kursk with the support of tanks.
"The enemy was repulsed by artillery fire, airstrikes and the use of combat drones,” the Russian Ministry of Defence said late on Tuesday.
Videos circulating on social media showed a burnt-out tanker truck at an unspecified location. Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov said at least 18 people were injured by combat drones amidst the fighting.
Kiev said the Russian armed forces had suffered "significant losses.” Its troops were reportedly attempting to reestablish themselves on the Ukrainian side of the border.
The information provided by the two warring parties could not be independently verified. Ukrainian troops under pressure News of the border fighting comes amid a difficult period for Ukrainian troops, with reports of severe pressure in the Russian-annexed Donetsk region.
Fighting is reportedly already occurring on the outskirts of the small town of Toretsk. Additionally, Moscow’s troops are moving further towards the mining town of Pokrovsk and the connecting road to Kostyantynivka.
Since mid-June, Russian troops have captured approximately 420 square kilometres of territory in Ukraine, according to former defence minister Sergei Shoigu, who is now secretary of the Russian National Security Council.
Moreover, the Ukrainian armed forces have since lost 115,000 soldiers and more than 3,000 pieces of armoured equipment, Shoigu said.
The figures cannot be independently verified, and Ukraine has also regularly reported massive losses among Russian forces since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Shoigu said Russian troops were achieving the goals of the special military operation, as the war is officially referred to in Russia, according to Russian news agencies in Azerbaijan.
Elsewhere on Tuesday, Russian army chief Valery Gerasimov visited the front in eastern Ukraine and awarded medals to soldiers following recent territorial gains. Gerasimov, the army’s chief of general staff, can be seen touring various underground positions.