PUTIN IS FURIOUS AND EMBARRASSED BY UKRAINE'S INCURSION INTO RUSSIA

Ina tense meeting in the Kremlin last Monday, military and intelligence officials explained to a visibly irritated Putin how Ukrainian regular forces had burst over Russia’s border.

- JOHN DOBSON

Just when you thought the war in Ukraine had become predictable, with Russian forces slowly and incrementally moving further into Ukrainian territory, something extraordinary happened. Catching the Russians completely offguard, in the early hours of 6 August Ukrainian forces ended a two-and-a-half year taboo over military operations on Russian soil by crossing the border into Russia’s Kursk Oblast. This was a watershed moment in the current war and an historic milestone in its own right. For the first time since the Second World War, Russia has been invaded by a foreign army. With proverbial steam coming out of his ears, an angry and embarrassed President Vladimir Putin was not amused.

In a tense meeting in the Kremlin last Monday, military and intelligence officials explained to a visibly irritated Putin how Ukrainian regular forces had burst over Russia’s border, overrunning meagre defences before advancing and capturing several towns and villages. During the move they destroyed a Russian convoy 25 miles from the border, causing dozens of casualties and sparking mass evacuations of nearly 200,000 Russians from the area. As Ukraine captured more and more territory, Russian commanders played down the assault, insisting that the military had matters under control. But Ukraine now controls at least 440 square miles of Russian territory and, as of Saturday, 82 settlements have been seized in Russia’s Kursk region. Ukrainian missiles have also destroyed two important bridges in the Kursk region, which will slow Russia’s ability to resupply its forces in the area. In just eleven days, Ukrainian troops have taken more territory in Russia than the Russians have captured all year in Ukraine.