Ukraine claims new advances in Russia, Belgorod declares emergency

Ukraine on Wednesday pressed its surprise offensive in Russian territory and bombarded the neighbouring border region of Belgorod, where the governor has declared a state of emergency.

Ukrainian forces entered Kursk region last Tuesday and have taken dozens of settlements in the biggest attack by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II.

President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday evening posted footage of a video call with his military chief Oleksandr Syrsky, who said that "as of today, our troops have advanced in some areas by one to three kilometres."

Over the last day, Syrsky added, "control over 40 square kilometres of territory has been taken" and "74 settlements are under our control".

The head of neighbouring Belgorod declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, saying the situation was "extremely difficult" in the Russian border region under Ukrainian bombardment.

"The situation in our Belgorod region remains extremely difficult and tense due to shellings from the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Houses are destroyed, civilians died and were injured," governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram.

Belgorod, which borders Ukraine's Kharkiv region, had also come under drone attack, he said.

After a week of the Ukrainian advance, Syrsky said Monday that his troops controlled about 1,000 square kilometres (386 square miles) of Russian territory.

Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov said Monday that 28 settlements had been captured and Ukrainian forces had penetrated at least 12 kilometres deep.

An AFP analysis of data provided by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) indicated that Ukrainian troops had advanced over an area of at least 800 square kilometres of Russian territory as of Monday.