Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 30km inside Russia, in what has become the deepest and most significant incursion since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, writes BBC.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had engaged Ukrainian troops near the villages of Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez, as the offensive in the Kursk region entered a sixth day. Foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Kyiv of “intimidating the peaceful population of Russia”.

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who directly acknowledged the attack for the first time in an address last night, said 2,000 cross-border attacks had been launched by Russia from Kursk this summer: “Artillery, mortars, drones. We also record missile strikes, and each such strike deserves a fair response”.

While Ukrainian-backed sabotage groups have launched intermittent cross-border incursions, the Kursk offensive marks the biggest co-ordinated attack on Russian territory by Kyiv’s conventional forces. “We are on the offensive. The aim is to stretch the positions of the enemy, to inflict maximum losses and to destabilise the situation in Russia as they are unable to protect their own border”, - the official said.

Footage circulating online and verified by the BBC also appeared to show a Russian strike near the village of Levshinka, around 25km from the border. Ukrainian troops have claimed to have captured a number of settlements in the Kursk region. In Guevo, a village about 3km inside Russia, soldiers filmed themselves removing the Russian flag from an administrative building. Clips have also emerged of Ukrainian troops seizing administrative buildings in Sverdlikovo and Poroz, while intense fighting has been reported in Sudzha - a town of about 5,000 people.