Ukraine claims to control 1,000 sq km of Russian territory

Ukraine's top commander has said Kyiv's forces control 1,000 sq km of Russian territory as they press their biggest cross-border incursion in two-and-a-half years of full-scale war, reports BBC today.

Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukraine continued to "conduct an offensive operation in the Kursk region" seven days after it began.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had brought war to others and now it was coming back to Russia.

But Russian leader Vladimir Putin described the offensive as a "major provocation" and ordered Russian forces to "to kick the enemy out of our territory".

A growing number of people have been evacuated from the western Russian region for their safety, with a further 59,000 told to leave.

The local governor said some 28 villages in the area had fallen to Ukrainian forces, that 12 civilians had been killed and that "the situation remains difficult".

Ukrainian troops launched their surprise attack last Tuesday, advancing up to 18 miles (30km) into Russia.

The offensive is said to have boosted morale on the Ukrainian side, but analysts say the strategy brings fresh dangers to Ukraine.

A senior British military source, who asked not to be named, told the BBC there was the risk that Moscow will be so angered by this incursion that it could redouble its own attacks on Ukraine’s civilian population and infrastructure.

Some in Russia have questioned how Ukraine was able to enter the Kursk region - with one pro-Russian war blogger, Yuri Podolyaka calling the situation "alarming".

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said a tough response from Russia's armed forces "will not take long".

Russian ally Belarus said it was bolstering its own troop numbers at its border after claiming Ukraine had entered its airspace with drones.

Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency said late on Monday it had inspected a damaged cooling tower at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine following a fire on Sunday, but could not immediately find the cause._Agencies.