'It's too dangerous' Tensions mount in borderlands

The journey from the Ukrainian city of Sumy to the Russian border is deceptively short. In about three quarters of an hour it is possible to arrive at a smashed-up Ukrainian border post and stare over two simple lines of fencing into Russian fields to the right. Except the territory beyond is no longer under Kremlin control.

- Dan Sabbagh

The Sudzha crossing is now five miles or so from the current frontline inside Russia's Kursk oblast. For now, it remains very much in Ukrainian hands a full week into the border incursion; during a brief visit what could be heard were the pops of outgoing artillery, not the crumps of incoming shells.

Edgy military guards, clips of rifle ammunition tucked into their chest pouches, blocked further progress into Russia, a swathe of territory that Ukraine's foreign ministry said yesterday it had no interest in permanently occupying. Instead, it said the attack was justified to "protect the lives of our people" - part of a creative attempt at self-defence, striking where the Russians are weakest.

The crossing fell on the first day of Ukraine's incursion, and videos released by Ukrainian sources showed a few dozen Russian border guards surrendering, overwhelmed by a surprise, mobile attack. But though severely damaged on the Ukrainian side, most of the destruction was caused earlier in the war: the most notable evidence of the incursion was old debris that had been swept aside to clear the road.