Moscow says fought off multiple attacks on border regions

By AFP - Mar 12,2024 - Last updated at Mar 12,2024

A service member works among the ruins of destroyed houses following shelling on the settlement of Hanzhenkova on the outskirts of Makiivka (Makeyevka), amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict on Tuesday (AFP photo)

MOSCOW — Moscow said on Tuesday its army had beaten back Ukrainian forces trying to claim territory in two Russian border regions, deploying warplanes, missiles and artillery to fend off the assaults.

The announcement came after several groups of Russian volunteers fighting for Ukraine said they had crossed the border in the region of Kursk in western Russia.

The defence ministry said that Russian forces "thwarted an attempt by the Kyiv regime to make a breakthrough into the border territory of the Russian Federation in the Belgorod and Kursk regions".

It said the first attempt began at 3:00 am local time (00:00 GMT) in the Belgorod region but that the Russian military and the Federal Security Service beat back the attacks.

It claimed without providing evidence to have destroyed dozens of Ukrainian servicemen as well as several armoured vehicles.

A second attempt started approximately three hours later in the neighbouring region of Kursk, also bordering Ukraine, the defence ministry said.

"Having suffered significant losses, the enemy was driven back," the defence ministry said in its statement.

Rate