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Russian defense ministry says forces "continue to repel" Ukrainian incursion into Kursk

From CNN's Olga Voitovych, Darya Tarasova and Tim Lister

The Russian defense ministry said its forces continue to “repel an attempt by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to invade the territory of the Russian Federation,” one week after a Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region began.

The ministry said Wednesday that the northern group of forces, supported by air and drone strikes, had prevented efforts by Kyiv’s troops to make further advances “deep into Russian territory.” It mentioned small settlements, including Skrylevka and Levshinka, that are some 20 kilometers (about 12 miles) from the border.

Earlier on Wednesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said troops had advanced 1 to 2 kilometers into the Kursk region.

The Russian ministry published video purporting to show the capture of several Ukrainian soldiers near the town of Martynovka, but CNN is unable to verify the location of the video or the identity of those seen in it.  It claimed the Ukrainians had lost up to 270 servicemen and 16 armored vehicles, publishing video it purported to show the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers.

The ministry said that “in the area of ​​Martynovka, two enemy groups on pickups were discovered and destroyed.” Martynovka is a few kilometers northeast of the town of Sudzha, where Ukrainian forces have been present since last Wednesday. Videos geolocated by CNN show a continued Ukrainian military presence in settlements near Sudzha.

The Russian ministry also said its aircraft had carried out strikes on Ukrainian reserves on the other side of the border in Ukraine’s Sumy region. It’s unclear how far Russia is redeploying units from other areas along the front lines to bolster the defense of Kursk, but it does appear to be redirecting reserves.

For its part, the Ukrainian General Staff said that anti-aircraft missiles brought down a Russian Su-34 combat aircraft in the Kursk region on Tuesday night.

Oleh Syniehubov, the head of Kharkiv regional military administration in Ukraine, said he has not seen a withdrawal of Russian troops in the Kharkiv direction.