Russian troops thwart attempted cross-border attack from Ukraine, official says

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces have thwarted an attempted new cross-border incursion from Ukraine into southwestern Russia, a local official said Sunday, months after Kiev carried out a daring attack on its nuclear-armed enemy that Moscow continues to struggle has to put a stop to it.

An “armed group” tried to breach the border between Ukraine and Russia’s Bryansk region on Sunday, Governor Aleksandr Bogomaz said, but was repulsed. Bogomaz did not clarify whether Ukrainian soldiers carried out the alleged attack, but claimed on Sunday evening that the situation was “stable and under control” by the Russian military.

There was no immediate acknowledgment or response from Ukrainian officials.

The region borders Kursk province, where Ukraine launched a surprise attack on August 6 that rattled the Kremlin and marked the biggest attack on Russia since World War II. Hundreds of Russian prisoners were blindfolded and taken away in trucks in the opening moments of the lightning advance, and Ukraine’s battle-hardened units quickly pushed through hundreds of square kilometers (square miles) of territory.

Responsibility for previous raids in the Russian regions of Belgorod and Bryansk have been claimed by two dark groups: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion.

Russian officials and state media have tried to downplay the significance of Kiev’s thunderous attack on Kursk, but the country’s armed forces have so far failed to drive Ukrainian forces out of the province. Western officials have speculated that Moscow could send troops from North Korea to bolster its efforts to do so, fueling the nearly three-year war and creating geopolitical ramifications as far away as the Indo-Pacific region.

Russian lawmakers on Thursday pact with Pyongyang eyeing mutual military assistance, a move that comes as the US confirmed the deployment of 3,000 North Korean troops to Russia.

North Korean units were detected in Kursk on Wednesday, according to Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, known by the acronym GUR. The soldiers had undergone several weeks of training at bases in eastern Russia and were equipped with clothing for the coming winter, GUR said in a statement late Thursday. It provided no evidence for its claims.

Also on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin Moscow says Moscow is working on ways to respond if the US and its NATO allies allow Ukraine to attack deep into Russia with Western long-range missiles.

Putin told Russian state television that it was too early to say exactly how Moscow might respond, but the Defense Ministry had considered a range of options.

Russia has repeatedly indicated that it would consider such attacks a major escalation. The Kremlin leader warned on September 12 that Moscow would be “at war” with the US and NATO states if they approved it. He claimed that military infrastructure and personnel from the bloc should be involved in targeting and firing the missiles.

He reinforced the message by announcing a new version of the nuclear doctrine that considers a conventional attack on Russia by a non-nuclear nation backed by a nuclear power as a joint attack on its country – a clear warning to the US and other allies of Kiev.

Putin also stated that the revised document foresees the possible use of nuclear weapons in the event of a massive airstrike, opening the door to a possible nuclear response to any airstrike – an ambiguity intended to deter the West.

Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly said they need permission to attack weapons depots, airfields and military bases far from the border to motivate Russia to seek peace. In response, US defense officials have argued that the number of missiles is limited, and that Ukraine is already using its own long-range drones to hit targets further into Russia.

That ability was evident from a Ukrainian drone strike in mid-September that hit a major Russian military depot in a town 500 kilometers (300 miles) from the border.

The US is allowing Kyiv to use American-supplied weapons in more limited, cross-border attacks to counter attacks by Russian forces.

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