Aftermath of attack on Sudzha, Kursk region, 6 August 2024. Photo: Alexey Smirnov, Telegram

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) attempted to make an incursion across the Ukrainian-Russian border into Russia’s Kursk region overnight, acting Kursk Governor Alexey Smirnov said on Tuesday, though he stressed that “fighters from the FSB border guards and the Russian Armed Forces prevented the border from being breached.”

Citing a pro-war online forum covering the Kursk region, Telegram channel Astra reported that a small group of AFU soldiers had crossed the border “at a narrow section of the front line” and had advanced several hundred metres into Russian territory.

Telegram channel Mash reported that there were approximately 100 troops in the Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group which attempted the border breach, though other Kursk online forums reported that the incursion attempt was ongoing on Tuesday, independent outlet Meduza said.

Five people, including three children, were also injured when the Kursk region town of Sudzha came under Ukrainian shelling overnight, badly damaging several residential buildings, according to Smirnov.

In total, 26 Ukrainian drones were shot down in the region, Smirnov said, adding that one had struck a car in the village of Glushkovo, injuring two people.

The AFU also shelled the Russian village of Yasnye Zori, in the southwestern Belgorod region overnight, killing one person and damaging a residential building, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Tuesday.