The Latest Breaking News from Alexei Smirnov

Russian authorities have ordered the evacuation of “multiple” villages that border Ukraine in the Kursk region, a local governor said on Monday. The news comes as Moscow says its forces have wrested two more villages in the region out of Kyiv’s control. Ukraine’s foreign ministry has invited the UN and…

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday accused Ukraine of trying to attack the Kursk nuclear power station, some 50 kilometres (30 miles) from where Kyiv's forces are mounting a major cross-border offensive.

Claim by Kyiv comes as Russian official admits Ukraine has seized 28 settlements during attack on border region

As the war enters its 900th day, these are the main developments.

The attack across the border has caught Russian forces off guard

Ukrainian soldiers and officials tell Askold Krushelnycky that Kyiv’s military wants to prolong the humiliation of Putin over surprise assault on Kursk for as long as possible – as army says it has taken 1,000 square kilometres of territory

Russia’s president Vladimir Putin accuses Kyiv of ‘large-scale provocation’

Russian President Vladimir Putin is describing a Ukrainian incursion into the country’s southwestern Kursk region as a “large-scale provocation” as his officials say they are fighting off cross-border raids for a second day

Russia was battling a major cross-border incursion from Ukraine for a second day on Wednesday, with authorities evacuating several thousand civilians due to fighting, officials said.