Ukraine has continued its invasion of Russia for the fifth day on Saturday, supposedly showing their incursion into the country could result in a longer-term occupation, according to reports.
The move is a steep change from when the country was reeling following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine two years ago, in which they had to fiercely defend their capital city of Kyiv.
A video appeared to show Ukrainian soldiers from the 252nd Territorial Defense Battalion in the village of Poroz, in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast standing outside a building identified as a village club. A post on X appears to verify the location of the soldiers as in Belgorod.
No other reports have shown Ukrainian forces in the region, which is located east of Kyiv. According to the Washington Post, Russian military analysts and pro-war bloggers claimed the video could be an orchestrated diversionary tactic to confuse Russian forces.
Ukraine’s apparent advance into Belgorod comes shortly after Ukrainian forces began fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, which caused thousands of civilians to flee. It also appears Russia has been struggling to hold off the Ukrainian advance, which comes after both sides stalemated for months.
Ukraine overwhelmed Russian border guards with military force as they entered Kursk, using armored vehicles, and reportedly using battle-hardened units. The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think-tank, said Ukrainian forces have managed to push up to 35 kilometers (20 miles) deep into the region.
“Ukrainian forces appear to be able to use these small armored groups to conduct assaults past the engagement line due to the low density of Russian personnel in the border areas,” it said in an analysis of the raid.
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Russia, and most of the world, has been caught off guard by Ukraine’s sudden push into the country at a time when they were wanting for munitions, as they have been for months.
The Ukrainian public has been encouraged by the assault in a war that some saw Russia outlasting the country in.