Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with Russian Army Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov, Defense Minister Andrey Belousov, and other Russian top officials over clashes with Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region on Aug. 7.
Moscow claims that Ukrainian forces crossed the border into the Kursk region on Aug. 6, resulting in clashes on Russian soil that were described by Putin as "a large-scale provocation." Kyiv has not commented on the fighting in the area.
Russian pro-war Telegram channels claimed that fighting was ongoing in the region's towns of Sudzha and Korenevo, writing that the Russian military has retreated from the Sudzha gas metering station, which transits gas to Europe through Ukraine.
European natural gas prices jumped over reports that Ukrainian forces had reached the key transit point of Sudzha, Bloomberg reported.
Vlitaliy Slashchov, the town's mayor, claimed that the situation in Sudzha, which is located some 10 kilometers (six miles) from the border with Ukraine, is "very tense," Russian state-controlled RIA Novosti news agency wrote.
Gerasimov told Putin via video that Ukrainian soldiers allegedly aimed to "seize" the territory of the Suzhansky district, but their "advance in the Kursk direction was halted."
These claims cannot be verified independently.
Satellite imagery obtained by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) shows significant damage to the Sudzha road border crossing point as of the morning of Aug. 6.
The Kursk region lies on the border with Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, which has been experiencing daily attacks since Russian troops were pushed out of the oblast and back across the border in April 2022.
Over the past day, Moscow's troops have increased aviation activity near the border areas of Sumy Oblast, dropping about 30 guided aerial bombs on the settlements, Ukraine's General Staff said in its latest update. The local authorities ordered further mandatory evacuation of the border settlements.
Martin Fornusek
