Ukrainian troops now 30km inside Russia

Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 30km inside Russia.

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,” Mr Zelensky told the country in his nightly address from Kyiv. 

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.