Ukraine sets up military office in Russia as aggression intensifies

According to Ukraine’s top military commander, the country has established a military administrative office in Russia’s Kursk region, where the surprise attack on Russian territory is still ongoing.

General Oleksandr Syrsky said the office would “maintain law and order” and “respond to the urgent needs” of people in the region.

In a video posted on social media, General Syrsky was seen telling a meeting chaired by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the office had been established “on territories controlled by Ukraine”.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said Moscow would send reinforcements to “protect” people in the region.

Ukraine also claimed further gains in its offensive on Thursday.

General Syrsky said the Ukrainian army had advanced 35km into the Kursk region, where they controlled 1,150km2 of territory, including 82 settlements.

Now in its 10th day, this is Ukraine’s deepest invasion of Russia since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion in 2022.

But Kyiv says it has no interest in “seizing” Russian territory.

Instead, the incursion was an attempt to pressure Moscow into agreeing to “restore a just peace,” Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhy told reporters on Wednesday.

Ahead of the incursion, Russian officials had prepared plans for “additional measures” to protect people and infrastructure in areas bordering Ukraine.

According to a video published on the Russian Defense Ministry’s Telegram channel, the measures include improving “troop management” in the Belgorod region, which borders Kursk.

The Interfax news agency said the plan would also apply to the Kursk and Bryansk regions. All three regions border Ukraine.

Russia has also declared a federal state of emergency in the Belgorod region. On Monday, 11,000 people were evacuated from the Krasnaya Yaruga district in Belgorod, according to Russian state news agency Tass.

Moscow, however, claims to have regained some lost territory. In a statement, the Defense Ministry said it had regained control of the Krupets settlement in the Kursk region.

The developments come as a UK source confirmed to the BBC that British-funded tanks were used in Russia’s attack on Ukraine.

The UK Ministry of Defence does not officially comment on which specific British weapons Ukraine uses, but it reiterates that Ukraine has a “clear right” to use British-supplied weapons to “defend itself against illegal Russian attacks”.

Britain was one of the first countries to supply modern Western battle tanks to Ukraine, donating 14 Challenger 2 tanks last year. But that was for Ukraine to attack and retake its territory.

The Ministry of Defense confirmed that there was no change in policy.

Military equipment provided by the United States and Germany is also being used for the invasion of Ukraine.

None of those countries objected to the use of their equipment in the attack. But given the secrecy of the operation, few knew what Ukraine’s intentions were.

There may still be concerns in the West about what happens next. Not just whether Ukraine could suffer significant losses and come back demanding more. But more importantly, some will worry about how Russia will respond.

The Kremlin has accused the West of being behind the attack on its territory. The fact that Western weapons were involved could be seen as evidence of that allegation.

Escalation is always a concern when dealing with a nuclear-armed state, and the Kremlin does not hesitate to occasionally brandish the nuclear saber.

But it also set many red lines that have been crossed.

From the beginning, it warned the West not to supply tanks to Ukraine. In the end, that warning was ignored.

However, there is still a major limitation. No Western country has given Kyiv the green light to use long-range missiles to strike targets inside Russia.

Britain, France and the United States have all provided some – but on the condition that they be used inside Ukraine. Including Crimea.

President Zelensky has repeatedly called for those warnings to be lifted.