FLASH
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Russian authorities are scrambling to get the situation under control in Kursk, a week after Ukrainian forces launched a surprise offensive in the region that has left part of Russian territory under Kiev's control.
Russia used missiles, drones and airstrikes on Tuesday in a bid to retake territory, with a top commander claiming Kiev's advance was over, even as the evacuation of residents from border areas continued.
"The enemy's uncontrolled march has already stopped," said General Apti Alaudinov, the commander of Akhmat, a Chechen special forces unit.
"The enemy is already aware that the Blitzkrieg he planned did not work," he added.
Ukrainian forces were still in control of numerous settlements, however, leaving the Kremlin to try to play down the significance of the events.
On Tuesday, a spokesman for Ukraine's foreign ministry said Kiev had no interest in a long-term occupation of the region.
"Unlike Russia, Ukraine does not need other people's property. Ukraine is not interested in taking the territory of the Kursk region, but we want to protect the lives of our people," Heorhii Tykhyi told reporters in Kyiv.
He said Russia had launched more than 2,000 attacks on Ukraine from the region in the past month. Russia has rushed reinforcements to the region, and Kiev claimed on Tuesday that some units from the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson sectors of the frontline in southern Ukraine were being redeployed to the Kursk region.
Dmytro Lykhoviy, a spokesman for the Ukrainian military, made the claim to Politico, though he clarified that it was a "relatively small" number of troops involved.
A report on Russian state television showed footage from the Kursk region of destroyed Ukrainian equipment. "There was a big battle here yesterday," said Yuri Polskoi, head of Giryi village. He pointed to the charred remains of cars and houses in the countryside, deep inside Russia. The TV report claimed that Ukrainian forces were hit and driven back as soon as they approached the village.
Kiev has not publicly stated the ultimate goal of its surprise move toward Russia, which has been variously hailed as a boost to morale after a long period of standing in the face of heavy Russian attacks, or as winning a potential tool bargains to use in negotiations.
A Western intelligence official said Kiev did not share specific details of the operation with allies until long after it was underway, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, and there has been little criticism of Kiev from friendly capitals. "Ukraine has every right to wage war in such a way as to paralyze Russia in its aggressive intentions as effectively as possible," Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday.
Ukraine has undertaken raids on Russian territory before, but they have been brief and seemed designed mainly to have a psychological effect.
This attack, with its continuous capture of territory, is different. But Vladimir Putin, in his public comments, has tended to downplay the significance of what has been the largest incursion of foreign troops into Russia since World War II.
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