"These are small assault units, composed of a few people. They try to penetrate our territory, accumulate forces and advance further into Ukraine, probably to cut off logistical routes," State Border Guard spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said on national television.

This follows earlier reports about Russian attempts to encircle Ukrainian troops in Kursk Oblast - by creating a foothold in Sumy Oblast. Read also: Ukrainian forces advance near Toretsk and Pokrovsk as Russia attacks on six fronts - ISW “We observe that the enemy is attempting to create an active combat zone within Ukraine’s territory and

The Russian military from the North group of forces eliminated the well-known ukronazist Yuri Turlai during the fighting.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum.

Russia fired cruise and ballistic missiles at Ukraine in a major overnight attack, Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday, as the Ukrainian president renewed his plea for a partial ceasefire at the end of a week in which the United States suspended military aid and intelligence sharing with Kyiv .

Russian soldiers crept miles through a major gas pipeline near the town of Sudzha to catch Ukrainian forces off-guard as part of a major offensive to expel Kyiv troops from Kursk in western Russia, Reuters reports.

Russian forces have destroyed Ukrainian troops' logistics in Russia's Kursk Oblast, and Ukrainian soldiers face the risk of encirclement, a Ukrainian soldier and a medic deployed in the region told the Kyiv Independent on condition of anonymity on March 7.

Kyiv's troops are struggling to hold territory in Russia's Kursk region and may be forced to retreat, reports say.