Ukraine launches second incursion in Russia after losing grip on Kursk

Ukrainian soldiers have launched a second counter-incursion into Russia after losing their grip on Kursk, officials and military bloggers say — with Kyiv allegedly eyeing the nearby Belgorod region.More than 20 villages in the region, located just south of Kursk, have come under attack in recent days by Ukrainian troops, missiles, and drones, according to regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.While Ukraine has remained tight-lipped over the incursion, President Volodymyr Zelensky told reporters Kyiv has taken “certain steps” in a region “a little below Kursk” to divide Russia’s forces.

The new wave of attacks on Russian soil appears to mimic last year’s Kursk incursion, where Ukrainian troops flooded the region and took dozens of villages under control to force Moscow to divert soldiers away from the frontlines.Russia, with the help of more than 12,000 North Korean soldiers, eventually took back control of nearly all of Kursk earlier in March after months of bloody fighting.With Kursk practically back in Moscow’s hands and Kyiv losing its main bargaining chip in the peace talks with Russia, Ukrainian National Defense and Security Council official Andril Kovalenko suggested a strike in the Belgorod region would be possible to divert the Kremlin forces being amassed near the border.It remains unclear how successful the second incursion is in terms of fairing, but Russian military bloggers reported that Kyiv gained a foothold in the village of Popovka on Saturday, where “heavy fighting” is taking place.“There are constant strikes on concentrations of Ukrainian Armed Forces, but the enemy still has serious offensive potential for this direction and has not abandoned plans for further breakthroughs, including in new areas of the front,” reported the Russian blogger channel, Two Majors.Russian forces in Kursk have been called in to provide reinforcements to Belgorod, according to another Russian blog, Rybar.Russian bloggers, who often have militar...