Ukrainian troops have entered another Russian border region, according to social-media posts and video footage, as Kyiv continues its surprise incursion into the Kursk oblast.
The Russian Defense Ministry has said that it is repelling Ukraine’s forces in the northwestern region. However, reports say that Kyiv’s troops are operating more than six miles inside the frontier, amid some accounts add that they are even deeper in Russian territory. Thousand of civilians from districts around the town of Sudzha have been evacuated from their homes.
However, on Saturday, video footage posted on Telegram purportedly showed troops fighting for Ukraine in the Belgorod region further north, which itself has been the scene of cross-border skirmishes over the course of the war. The veracity of the clip has not been independently confirmed, and it is unclear when it filmed. Newsweek has contacted the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment.
Screen grab via Telegram
Independent news outlet Agentstvo was among Telegram channels that shared the footage of five men in military uniform holding the flags of Ukraine and Georgia.
One of them said that they were in the village of Poroz, just over a mile inside the Russian border, and around 60 miles south of Sudzha.
“With best wishes, the 252nd battalion is in the Poroz settlement in the Belgorod region. Glory to Ukraine, glory to the 252nd battalion!” a soldier says to the camera, standing in front of a sign that reads: “Poroz rural club.”
Other social-media users shared the video and noted the significance of another purported move by Ukraine in a separate part of Russia’s border region.
“Apparently not satisfied with taking Russia’s Kursk region, a motivated Ukrainian Army reportedly begins moving into Belgorod,” reported the English-language newspaper Kyiv Post.
The X (formerly Twitter) account of War is Translated wrote that Ukraine’s 252nd Battalion “claims control over the village of Poroz in Belgorod Oblast. This means the Ukrainian forces have crossed the border in a new area.”
“The 252nd Battalion has taken control of the village of Poroz, sending a message to the world,” posted news outlet Visegrád 24.
On Friday, Belgorod was named along with Kursk and Bryansk as three regions where Russian authorities have declared they are launching a counterterrorism operation.
The Russian anti-terrorism committee, headed by Federal Security Service (FSB) director Alexander Bortnikov, said that the measures followed Ukraine’s “unprecedented attempt to destabilize the situation in a number of regions of our country.”
“State bodies are taking additional measures aimed at ensuring the safety of citizens, maintaining law and order and strengthening the anti-terrorist protection of facilities,” the statement said.
