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According to CCTV News, the Acting Governor of Kursk Oblast, Smirnov, announced on August 6 local time that intelligence was received from Suza and Kolenievo in Kursk Oblast that day, saying that the Ukrainian army attempted to enter Kursk Oblast, and the Russian Federal Security Service Border Guard Bureau and the Russian armed forces worked together to prevent the Ukrainian army from breaking in. Some foreign media said that this offensive was one of the largest ground offensives by Ukraine against Russian territory since the outbreak of the conflict.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency citing TASS on the 7th, Russian Assistant Minister of Health Kuznetsov told the media that day that the Ukrainian armed forces' attack on Kursk Oblast on the 6th had injured 24 people, including 6 children.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said in a radio program on the 7th that the Ukrainian army's attack on Kursk Oblast "was another terrorist attack against civilians."

The Russian Federal Security Service issued a statement on the 6th saying that the Ukrainian army shelled villages in Kursk Oblast that morning. The Russian Federal Security Service border guards and the Russian armed forces took joint measures to repel the Ukrainian action. At present, Ukraine has not yet made an official response to the attack on Kursk Oblast. However, a Ukrainian official posted on social media that Russia's statement that the situation in the Kursk region is under control is a "lie."

Before the attack, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov said on the 5th that Ukraine had planned to launch an attack on Russian territory on July 28, the Russian Navy Day, and called its action plan "particularly disturbing." Russia conveyed this message to the United States in the first call between the Russian and American defense ministers in more than a year in July this year. The United States then called Ukraine and urged it not to take relevant actions. At present, the United States has not responded to Ryabkov's remarks.

"One of the largest ground offensives ever"

The Russian Ministry of Defense said on the 6th that at around 8 a.m. local time, "more than 300 soldiers" of the 22nd Mechanized Brigade of Ukraine attacked Russian border troops in the Kursk region with "the support of 11 tanks and more than 20 armored vehicles", and the Russian army subsequently "repelled the attack". Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor of Kursk, posted on the social platform Telegram that day that the attack had killed 3 people and injured more than 20 people, including 6 children.

The attack was described by Reuters and other media as "one of the largest ground offensives launched by Ukraine against Russian territory since the Russian-Ukrainian conflict." A Russian military blogger posted on Telegram that the battle was still going on fiercely after more than 10 hours.

On the evening of the 6th local time, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that the Ukrainian soldiers who attacked the Kursk region had retreated into Ukraine and the Russian army was continuing to attack them. The local authorities in Kursk said that the situation was still tense, but overall it was under control. All emergency service departments had switched to an all-weather enhanced work mode and were in close contact with the Ministry of Defense, while calling on the public to remain calm.

At present, the Ukrainian military and defense departments have not made any comments on the attack. The Financial Times reported that this is consistent with Ukraine's consistent policy of neither admitting nor denying military operations on Russian territory. But the report said that the message posted on Telegram by Andriy Kovalenko, a senior official of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Committee, seemed to imply that Ukraine was involved in the incident. Kovalenko wrote: "Russian soldiers lied that the situation in the Kursk region was under control. Russia does not control the border."

Since March 2022, Russian border areas, especially Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod, have been attacked by Ukrainian troops many times. The Financial Times said that in most cases, these actions were led by Russian citizens who opposed the Russian government and fought for Ukraine under the command of the Ukrainian Military Intelligence Agency. The Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion had previously claimed responsibility for some military infiltration operations into Bryansk and Belgorod.

The Financial Times previously disclosed that in May 2023, the Russian Volunteer Corps used US-made tanks to attack Belgorod, but the organization's leaders refused to disclose the source of the US-made military vehicles. Since Ukraine obtained the same military vehicles from the United States, it is speculated that Ukraine supports the organization's actions. Since then, Ukraine has denied direct involvement in the attack, but Ukrainian military intelligence officials admitted that there was some form of cooperation with the Russian Volunteer Corps, "there was communication" and "some information was shared", while denying that any military equipment had been provided to the organization.

Kiev officials and the Russian Volunteer Corps that participated in several previous attacks have said that such attacks are launched to bring the war to the Russian mainland and try to force Russia to transfer military resources from the southern and eastern battlefields of Ukraine. The British "Guardian" also believes that for the Ukrainian army, which is stretched thin in terms of defense, the purpose of the latest attack on the 6th may be to divert some of the Russian army's attention to ease the pressure on the front line and boost domestic morale. However, the report also stated that some critics in Ukraine believe that such attacks lack long-term military goals and have not brought any strategic benefits to Ukraine.

Did the dialogue between Russian and US defense ministers prevent Ukraine’s “disturbing” actions?

Just before the attack on the 6th, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov said on the 5th that Ukrainian special forces had originally planned to launch an attack in Russia on July 28, the Russian Navy Day. On that day, Russian President Putin and Defense Minister Belousov both attended the military parade.

Ryabkov said that the action planned by the Ukrainian army was "particularly disturbing" and "aimed at causing the greatest damage and getting the greatest media effect they need." After Belousov spoke with US Defense Secretary Austin, Washington contacted Kiev and urged the latter not to take this action. At present, the US has not commented on what Ryabkov said.

Earlier, the New York Times reported on July 26, citing information provided by informed officials, that during a call between the Russian and American defense ministers on July 12, Belousov had conveyed a warning to the US side, saying that Russia had discovered that Ukraine was carrying out a secret operation against Russia and believed that the operation was supported by the United States. The Russian side wanted to know whether the US side knew about Ukraine's plan and understood that the operation could exacerbate tensions between Russia and the United States.

According to reports, Belousov's call request in early July was very "unusual". Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the Russian and American defense ministers have only had five phone calls, and almost every time it was done at the initiative of the US side, often to avoid misjudgments that could lead to an escalation of the conflict. After Belousov replaced Shoigu as Russia's new defense minister, Austin had his first phone call with him on June 25, with the aim of "keeping the communication channels open."

According to U.S. officials,PentagonOfficials were surprised by the Russian accusations during the call, and they were not aware of such an action plan. But no matter what Belousov revealed, the United States obviously took it very seriously and contacted the Ukrainian side, "basically saying, if you want to do such a thing, don't do it." After the July call, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the Russian and American defense ministers "discussed the prevention of security threats and reducing the risk of escalation."

The New York Times said that the call between the two defense ministers shows that private conversations between U.S. and Russian officials often reveal much more than what is revealed to the public, and shows how the two countries are working behind the scenes to control the risk of escalation. On the other hand, although Ukraine is deeply dependent on the United States for military, intelligence and diplomatic support, it is not always transparent to the United States in terms of military operations. The United States believes that some actions have not significantly improved the situation faced by Ukraine on the battlefield, but may alienate European allies and expand the scale of the war. In the past two years, the attacks on the Russian air base in Crimea, the Crimean Bridge, and drone attacks deep into Russian territory have made the United States uneasy.