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Ukrainecast answers your questions on the Kursk incursion [Ukrainian servicemen on a pick-up truck in Russia's Kursk region] [Advertisement]( Summary - The BBC's Ukrainecast is answering listeners' questions on Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region - press watch live in the picture above - An aide to the Kremlin has claimed that Nato and the West were directly involved in the planning for Ukraine's attack - The White House says Kyiv did not provide advance notice of its incursion and that Washington had no involvement - Meanwhile [Ukraine has set up a military office inside Russia](, which it says will "meet the immediate needs" of the population in the area - Ukraine has told residents to evacuate the city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region - Russian forces are said to be approaching the outskirts after intense fighting in recent days Live Reporting Edited by Jamie Whitehead and Barbara Tasch - Can Russia cut Ukrainian troops off?published at 12:43 British Summer Time 12:43 BST Here is another question - this time from Sasha, who asked this on Ukrainecast's online community on Discord: How likely is it that Russian forces can cut off the Ukrainian troops currently occupying Russian territory? At the moment, there is probably no chance of this because the Ukrainians are still expanding outwards, Savill says. But they will have a challenge depending on how long they choose to stay and defend those supply lines from Russian airstrikes and attacks. If they choose to extend further, they might outrun their own logistics supply lines. And if they try and hold on to particular settlements in the face of an eventual Russian counter attack, that will be a challenge too. There are a few signs that they might be digging in, but so far they haven't set up the kind of deep defences needed to repel a Russian counter-attack. - - What levels of defence does Russia have?published at 12:40 British Summer Time 12:40 BST The first question on Ukrainecast is from Duncan in Western Australia. He asks: Can you describe the topography where Ukrainian incursion into Russia occurred? Is it like flat country, rolling country, is that a river or highway that separates the border? And what do you know about what level of defences the Russians had? Presenter Vitaly Shevchenko says there is a lot of flat land, with small wooded areas, no major rivers or big roads that would act as obstacles. There are a couple of relatively good roads though, and that all makes it easier for the Ukrainian forces to move into the Kursk region, he explained. Defence expert Matthew Savill, from the Royal United Services Institute, then moved on to the second part of the question, saying it seems the area had been not well defended. A combination of internal security and border forces, not much in the way of large conventional forces, he says. The area hasn't had the kind of deep fortification defensive lines the Ukrainians have found difficult to break through in Ukraine itself, he says, adding that they seem to have deliberately chosen a weak spot on the border. - - Ukrainecast answering listeners' questions this lunchtimepublished at 12:29 British Summer Time 12:29 BST [The promotional image for the BBC's Ukraine podcast]Image source, . The Ukrainian incursion into Russia last week has surprised many and adds an extra layer of complexity to an already complicated picture. A special episode of Ukrainecast today aims to shed some light on events for those with outstanding questions. Presenters Lucy Hockings and Vitaly Shevchenko will be joined by defence expert Matthew Savill from the Royal United Services Institute, a leading UK defence think tank, a little later today to answer listeners' questions. We will bring you the latest lines from the episode, which you can follow along by pressing the Watch live button at the top of this page from 12:30 BST. - - Ukrainian forces vulnerable as their advance slowspublished at 12:22 British Summer Time 12:22 BST Jonathan Beale Defence correspondent [Ukrainian soldiers near the Russian border]Image source, EPA Image caption, Ukrainian soldiers near the Russian border Ukraine’s advance into Russia has slowed in recent days and there’s likely to be a point soon when it stops. There’ll be more logistical challenges the further Ukraine advances – keeping forces supplied with ammunition, food and fuel. But that’s not a significant obstacle given that Ukraine’s troops are still within 50km of their own border. The greater concern will be holding on to the gains made – long enough for it to be a bigger political problem for President Putin and a drain on Russia’s own forces. There’s already evidence that Ukraine has been digging in and building defences. But those defences will become a magnet for Russian attacks. Moscow has already been releasing video of its air force using glide bombs to target Ukrainian positions on its side of the border. The same weapons which have had such a devastating effect in eastern Ukraine. Justin Crump, a former British Army Officer and who now heads the risk consultancy Sibylline, says over time Ukrainian forces across the border will become more vulnerable to Russian attacks. He says the chances of Russia attacking Ukraine’s supply lines and using its Air Force effectively will increase. The morale boost for Ukraine in launching this offensive could soon dissipate if this becomes another grinding, static battle. - - [BBC Verify] Ukraine releases footage of first day of incursionpublished at 12:08 British Summer Time 12:08 BST By Richard Irvine-Brown Ukraine’s armed forces have published footage on social media of their assault on a Russian border checkpoint near Sudzha, in the Kursk region, on 6 August, the first day of their incursion into Russia. The video shows buildings at the checkpoint being fired on, and some destroyed. The video ends with a Ukraine-marked tank driving north, toward Sudzha. We verified the location by matching the layout of roads and buildings at the checkpoint to satellite images available on Google, Bing and others. We can even tell where the tank is driving by the road markings and the number of lanes on a road near the checkpoint. We know this was filmed on 6 August because proprietary satellite images show all the buildings intact on 5 August, and damaged on 6 August. Given the shadows, the attack must have been filmed in the early evening, between about 17.30 and 19:00, local time. The light wind and scattered cloud cover also matches weather reports for Sudzha at this time. - - Russia says it repelled an attack on the Crimean bridgepublished at 11:51 British Summer Time 11:51 BST Russia's air defence systems repelled a strike on the Crimean bridge last night by 12 US-made missiles, the defence ministry says in a statement on Telegram. The missiles are said to have been targeting the landmark bridge built on president Putin's orders after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula in 2014. The strike consisted of "12 ATACMS operational-tactical missiles made in the US", according to the Russian defence ministry, who says that "all the missiles were destroyed." The BBC is unable to independently verify the statement. - - Three civilians killed in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, local official sayspublished at 11:28 British Summer Time 11:28 BST Russian attacks on Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region have killed three civilians and injured five more in the last 24 hours, the Reuters news agency reports, citing the regional head. The area has seen some of the war's heaviest fighting, as Russian forces advance towards Pokrovsk, a city in the region. The Russian defence ministry is also claiming its forces have taken control of Serhiivka, a village in the region, according to the the Russian state news agency, TASS. - - Ukraine orders evacuation of Pokrovskpublished at 11:03 British Summer Time 11:03 BST Ukraine has ordered the evacuation of Pokrovsk, a city in the Donetsk Oblast, as Russian forces approach the region. In a post on Telegram, the head of the city's military administration says it's important residents "don't delay" their evacuation, as Russian troops are "rapidly approaching the outskirts of Pokrovsk". The city was the focus of the highest intensity of fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces yesterday, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In a post on X, President Volodymyr Zelensky said the city was [a key focus for defence forces, external](, and was one of a number of areas "facing the most intense Russian assaults". - - Life on the edge: Ukraine's Sumy border region near Kurskpublished at 10:34 British Summer Time 10:34 BST It's been 11 days since Ukrainian forces launched a surprise offensive on Russian soil with targeted attacks in border regions including Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk. Kyiv's incursion into mainland Russia comes two-and-a-half years after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Here's some images of life near the Sumy region in Ukraine, which borders the Kursk region in Russia. [Man standing in front of damaged buildings in a border village in the Sumy region]Image source, Getty Images Image caption, A local resident in the Sumy border region with Russia after buildings were hit by artillery shells [Two soldiers, one crying on the other's shoulder, standing in front of a truck]Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Ukrainian soldiers comfort each other after returning from battle in the Kursk region [A Ukrainian mechanic rests in an American Stryker armoured vehicle after returning from a combat mission in the Kursk region]Image source, Getty Images Image caption, A Ukrainian mechanic rests in an American Stryker armoured vehicle after returning from a combat mission in the Kursk region - - A rare moment of doubt on Russian state TVpublished at 10:10 British Summer Time 10:10 BST Steve Rosenberg Russia editor Last night’s main news bulletin on Russian TV showed Russian troops in Kursk region trying to restore control. “We’ll be victorious,” one soldier said. “I’m 100% sure we’ll win,” declared another. The soldiers had a signed photo of Vladimir Putin. The president’s portrait was also on their banner. If there’s a message here it is that president Putin will lead Russia to victory. But in stark contrast to the typically triumphalist messages, a few days ago on state TV there was a rare, public moment of self-doubt. On a political talk show a film director suggested that “if there are more blunders like this one Russia might lose the war.” “We must stop saying that everything in our country is fine,” Karen Shakhnazarov said. “There’s a lot that isn’t fine.” He continued : “[On TV] we’re always showing Ukrainians who don’t want to fight. But now we can see: they’re fighting well. And they’re highly motivated. Why are we kidding ourselves?” - - There is nothing normal about what has been happening in Russiapublished at 09:56 British Summer Time 09:56 BST Steve Rosenberg Russia editor In the centre of Moscow I can see commuters rushing to a Metro station and people speeding by on electric scooters. It never ceases to amaze me how normal everything looks here on the surface. In reality, there is nothing normal about what’s been happening in Russia for the last two-and-a-half years. So many dramatic events: from Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine to the Wagner mutiny. And now, the incursion by Ukrainian troops in Kursk region. After talking to people on the streets of Moscow, it’s clear that the incursion has made the war feel closer. “It makes me sad,” says Laura, “it shows our borders are unprotected.” “Now I’m worried about World War Three,” Sophia tells me. “But I hope it’s just me worrying.” - - 'Hundreds' of Russian prisoners will be exchanged, says top Ukraine advisorpublished at 09:32 British Summer Time 09:32 BST Ukraine has captured "hundreds" of Russian prisoners of war in Kursk, according to a senior Ukrainian government advisor. Yuriy Sak tells the [BBC's Newsday programme]( that "they will be exchanged at a later date for the Ukrainian prisoners of war kept by Russia". Sak says one of the "tactical objectives of this operation" is to neutralise airfields in the Kursk region, which he claims have been used "to carry out over 2,000 attacks on the Ukrainian territory" this summer alone. "We haven't been very vocal about the preparation stages and that assured us the element of surprise," says Sak, "so this gives us leverage, this makes our position stronger." - - Russia claims successful strike on Ukrainian forces within Russiapublished at 09:09 British Summer Time 09:09 BST We're hearing further details of what has happened overnight both from Ukraine and Russia. Earlier we reported that each side claimed to have successfully shot down drones. Russia's Ministry of Defence posted on Telegram early this morning about a successful strike on Ukrainian Armed Forces in the border area of Kursk in Russia. The update claims: "Army aviation crews on Mi-28NM helicopters carried out a strike at night on a concentration of manpower, armoured vehicles and automobile military equipment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units in the border area of the Kursk Region." It adds that intelligence reports suggest all specified targets were destroyed. - - Five Russian drones shot down overnight, Ukraine air force sayspublished at 08:53 British Summer Time 08:53 BST Some more news now from what happened overnight. In an update issued via Telegram this morning, Ukraine's air force say they shot down five drones launched by Russia in regions including Odesa and Poltava. The statement also says that Russia struck with three ballistic Iskander-M missiles. Andriy Raikovych, Kirovohrad Regional State Administration, says via Telegram that so far "no consequences have been recorded". The Reuters news agency reports that the Kyiv governor has reported no damage or casualties. Also on Telegram, the Russian Ministry of Defence posted this morning that they have "intercepted and destroyed five aircraft-type UAVs over the Black Sea". They also claimed to have destroyed two unmanned boats that were "heading towards the Crimean Peninsula". - - Ukraine pushes on despite a slowing advancepublished at 08:39 British Summer Time 08:39 BST James Waterhouse Ukraine Correspondent in the Sumy region [Ukrainian armoured vehicles drive down a road near the Russian border in the Sumy region]Image source, Reuters Image caption, Ukrainian vehicles near the Russian border in the Sumy region Ukraine is increasing its footprint in Russia’s Kursk region. Its forces have crossed into the neighbouring Belgorod province and a major river crossing to the north has been destroyed. But on the 11th day of its blistering offensive, the advance is inevitably starting to slow in the face of familiar Russian tactics. Glide bombs are still dropped on Ukrainian positions and settlements across the border. You could feel the thud as one landed a mile from where we were. Senior western officials have told CNN that Russia is redeploying thousands of troops to try and stem the Ukrainian tide. Most are thought to be untrained conscripts from other parts of the country. While several brigades are moving across from Ukrainian front lines, their advances there are yet to slow. Invading troops are now within almost 10km of Pokrovsk, an eastern town I have gradually watched be destroyed by Russian strikes over the past year. The mayor is urging people to evacuate. As Ukraine looks to consolidate its gains on Russian soil, keeping hold of it may well be more challenging than its surprise capture with elite forces. Kyiv will be encouraged by Moscow’s military reaction, but it might be too late for Pokrovsk. - - Ukraine's incursion raises 'a series of urgent questions' for the White Housepublished at 08:17 British Summer Time 08:17 BST Tom Bateman State Department correspondent [Joe Biden with his arm around President Zelensky]Image source, Reuters Image caption, President Joe Biden welcoming Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to Washington in 2022 Washington is absorbing the impact of Ukraine’s lightning assault into Russia’s Kursk region as the scale of president Zelensky’s bold gamble emerges. US officials are assessing how the incursion might reshape the political and military dynamics of the war, as well as the implications for Washington’s long-shifting stance on how Ukraine can use American-supplied arms. The stunning raid, catching both Russian and apparently Western leaders by surprise, highlights one of the riskiest dilemmas for the Western-backed defence of Ukraine: president Biden has consistently tried to empower Kyiv to push back Russia’s invasion without risking an American escalation with Moscow. As president Putin has always tried to portray the conflict as a war between Russia and the West, Biden has sought to put clear limits on US policy to deflate that narrative and prevent a conflagration. But Ukraine’s Kursk assault - the largest incursion into Russia by a foreign military since World War Two, according to military analysts - has raised a series of urgent questions for the White House. You can read my full piece [here](. - - What are Russian citizens hearing about the incursion?published at 08:01 British Summer Time 08:01 BST Francis Scarr BBC Monitoring From the start of this incursion, Russian state media has been following the Kremlin’s lead to try and put a brave face on, telling people that Ukrainian forces are being pushed back and authorities are working efficiently to rescue and evacuate civilians. All of the daily updates, which are coming from the Russian defence ministry, are then amplified by state TV, which is where most Russians still get their news. These updates suggest that Russia is on top of developments. They are using phrases such as “the operation to destroy enemy forces continues” or “attempts by the enemy to break through have been repelled”. That said, in these daily updates there are some details that do indicate an admission that Ukrainian forces are advancing. Yesterday for example the defence ministry listed some names of the villages where fighting was ongoing, and if you compare them to the previous day, you could tell that Ukrainian forces had advanced by a couple of kilometres in the previous 24 hours or so. The fact that president Putin has not publicly spoken on this issue since Monday I think says a lot, he tends to distance himself from bad news. - - British donated tanks used in Ukraine incursionpublished at 07:49 British Summer Time 07:49 BST [A challenger 2 tank in a woodland area]Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Challenger 2 tanks were donated to Ukraine by the UK last year It was confirmed yesterday that Challenger 2 tanks donated by the UK had been used by Ukraine as part of its surprise incursion into Russia. Here’s a quick recap of what else happened on Thursday: - President Zelensky said Ukrainian troops were advancing further into Russia. He claimed they now have control of more than 80 settlements and have established a military administration in Sudzha, in the Kursk region - We heard more about humanitarian corridors that Ukraine is looking to establish from a “security zone” both towards Russia and towards Ukraine. Work on the latter is ongoing alongside the military, the country's deputy prime minister said - Russia’s Ministry of Defence said a co-ordinating council had been established to manage military security across Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk (regions which all border Ukraine). It came as a federal-level emergency situation was declared for Belgorod - - Ukraine in maps: Tracking the war with Russiapublished at 07:37 British Summer Time 07:37 BST Fighting has raged in Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. Russian forces have made small gains in recent months but now Ukrainian forces have staged a counter-offensive into Russia. [Here is a recap of recent significant events and the situation in Ukraine.]( - Ukraine sends units into Russia - Ukrainian troops launched a surprise attack across the border in early August, advancing up to 18 miles (30km) into the Russian region of Kursk [A BBC map showing Russian and limited Russian military control, Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and the limit of Ukrainian advance]Image source, . - Russian incursion north of Kharkiv - At the beginning of May 2024, Russian forces crossed the international border to the north of Ukraine's second-biggest city, Kharkiv. Several villages were seized and thousands of civilians fled - Russia grinds forward in the east - The incursion north of Kharkiv was some distance from the main front line in the east where Russia has continued its offensive operations and been edging forwards since October 2023 - Two and a half years of fighting - Russia's invasion began with dozens of missile strikes on cities all over Ukraine before dawn on 24 February 2022. Russian ground troops moved in quickly and within a few weeks were in control of large areas of Ukraine and had advanced to the suburbs of Kyiv - - Statements by US not true, Patrushev tells Russian newspaperpublished at 07:36 British Summer Time 07:36 BST Kremlin aide Nikolai Patrushev has been quoted in Russia’s Izvestia newspaper as suggesting Nato and Western special services participated in the planning of Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region, the Reuters news agency reports this morning. "The operation in the Kursk region was also planned with the participation of Nato and Western special services," the newspaper quotes Patrushev as saying. "The statements by the US leadership that it was not involved in Kyiv's crimes in the Kursk region are not true... Without their participation and direct support, Kyiv would not have ventured into Russian territory." Earlier this week, the White House said the US had no advance notice of the operation and had no involvement. previous page - 1 - 2 next page - [Home]() - [News]( - [Sport]( - [Business]( - [Innovation]( - [Culture]( - [Travel]( - [Earth]( - [Video]( - [Live]( - [Terms of Use]( - [About the BBC]( - [Privacy Policy]( - [Cookies]( - [Accessibility Help]( - [Parental Guidance]( - [Contact the BBC]( - [Get Personalised Newsletters]( - [Why you can trust the BBC]( - [Advertise with us]( - © 2024 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [Read about our approach to external linking.](