Russia reported that it has halted the advance of hundreds of troops involved in an assault on a town in the Kursk border region, though fighting persists. Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Ukraine of orchestrating a "large-scale provocation."

On Wednesday, Russia announced that it was continuing its efforts to combat Ukrainian troops who had crossed into the Kursk border region the previous day. The Russian Defense Ministry stated on social media that "the operation for the destruction of Ukrainian army units is continuing" and that "the enemy's movement further into Russian territory has been prevented."

Russian President Vladimir Putin characterized the incident as a "large-scale provocation" by Ukraine. During a video conference with military Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov and other officials, Gerasimov reported to Putin that although the advance had been stopped, fighting was ongoing in the border area adjacent to northeastern Ukraine. Gerasimov noted that as of Tuesday morning, "a unit of Ukraine's armed forces numbering up to 1,000 people went on the offensive," with the goal of seizing Russian territory.

In response, Kursk's acting governor, Alexei Smirnov, announced that several thousand people had been evacuated from the border region. He described the local resistance to the attacks as "heroic" and called on residents to donate blood.

In a related development, Ukraine ordered the evacuation of 23 settlements in the Sumy border region by Wednesday afternoon, affecting approximately 6,000 people.

According to Russian sources, Russian soldiers, supported by tanks, had launched an assault on Russian border forces in the Kursk settlements of Nikolayevo-Daryino and Oleshnya, which are located directly across from the Ukrainian border region of Sumy. The troops subsequently advanced to the Russian town of Sudzha, which is the last operational trans-shipment point for Russian gas exports to Europe via Ukraine. The Kursk nuclear power plant is situated about 60 kilometers (40 miles) away.

Russian authorities reported that at least five people had been killed and 24 others injured. On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry indicated that "border defense troops, together with military units of the FSB border force," were "repelling attacks and inflicting fire damage on the enemy."

While Ukraine has not explicitly confirmed a new offensive in the Kursk region, the Ukrainian general staff has mentioned Russian attacks on Ukrainian border villages. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, there have been several incursions into Russian territory. Notably, in May 2023, the Ukrainian-based Freedom of Russia Legion, comprised of Russian citizens, conducted raids into the Belgorod region of Russia, with assistance from the Russian Volunteer Corps, another unit of Russian nationals. Additionally, in March 2023, the Russian Volunteer Corps claimed responsibility for a raid in the Russian border region of Bryansk. Neither the Freedom of Russia Legion nor the Russian Volunteer Corps has commented on the recent reported border attacks in the Russian Kursk region.