DRAMATIC footage captured the moment a convoy of Ukrainian tanks stormed into Russia in a major cross-border offensive.
Tyrant Vladimir Putin's men said the Ukrainian advance into Kursk, including tanks, armoured personnel carriers and a UR-77 mine-clearing vehicle, was part of a "massive attack".
Heavy fighting has been underway in Kruglenkoye and Kazachya Lokna settlements, with other towns and villages shelled heavily.
Russia has thrown troops, artillery and Ka-52 attack helicopters at the Ukrainian forces in a desperate bid to stop their surprise advance, which began on Tuesday.
But footage appeared to show dozens of Putin's soldiers throwing down their weapons and surrendering in their own country - in a massive humiliation for the dictator.
Ukraine has captured as many as 300 Russians, with Kyiv’s forces penetrating almost 20 miles inside Russia, according to some reports.
Among those held are troops from Russia’s 225th Assault Brigade, shown in footage with their hands bound, sitting on a road.
Another clip claims to show captive squaddies walking in a line and escorted by their new Ukrainian guards.
Many more are reported to have fled their positions as a state of emergency was declared in Kursk on Wednesday evening.
But Russian military chief Valery Gerasimov insists the incursion has been halted.
The chief of Russia's General Staff said some 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been involved in the attack, led by Kyiv’s 22nd Mechanised Brigade.
Ukraine’s precise objectives are not clear, but some on the Russian side fear they could try to seize the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.
Thousands of Russians are evacuating the region amid complaints that Putin’s armed and security forces have failed to protect them.
The town of Sudzha is under partial Ukrainian control and almost surrounded by its forces.
Close Putin crony and ex-president Dmitry Medvedev today demanded Russia respond by seizing the whole of Ukraine.
It was now “necessary” to “mercilessly defeat and destroy the enemy”, and stage a total invasion, he said.
Medvedev blasted: “From now on, the (war) must acquire an openly extraterritorial character.
“This is no longer just an operation to return our official territories and punish the [Ukrainian] Nazis.
“We can and must go to the lands of the still existing Ukraine - to Odesa, to Kharkiv, to Dnipro, to Mykolaiv (all cities now held by Ukraine).
“There should be no restrictions in the sense of some borders of the Ukrainian Reich recognised by anyone.
“And now we can and must talk about this openly, without embarrassment.
“Let everyone, including the English b*******, realise this: we will stop only when we consider it acceptable and beneficial for ourselves.”
Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor of Russia's Kursk Oblast, claimed that Ukrainian forces stormed into the Sudzha and Korenevo districts of Kursk Oblast.
Telegram channels with links to Russia's Defence Ministry said Ukrainian forces captured the villages of Nikolaevo-Darino, Sverdlikovo and Oleshnya - and have secured strong footholds in these border areas.
The farthest village claimed to have been captured is some four kilometres inside Russia from the international border.
Other reports claim Ukrainian troops have also advanced into Gogolevka and Goncharovka inside Russia.
Ukraine has yet to comment on these major advances.
The Russian military admitted Ukraine had sent its troops along with armoured combat vehicles across the northeastern border on August 6 in a "massive attack".
It's the same region Ukraine-supporting rebels stormed in a two-pronged assault in March.
![Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov (left) with Russian Major-General Apty Alaudinov, commander of the Akhmat [Chechen] special forces](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Apty_Alaudinov_-2-_east2west_newsjpg-JS923541053.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Fighting has been focused on small villages across the lightly guarded frontier.
Footage posted of the attacks on social media showed fighter jets screaming low over a highway, destroyed Russian helicopters, and burnt-out trucks.
The valiant Ukrainians also destroyed two Russian attack helicopters yesterday - a Ka-52 "Alligator" and a Mi-28 "Havoc" downed by an FPV drone.
Russia's Ministry of Defence claimed at first the attack had been repelled in a statement on Telegram, only for it to later scrub the line.
Moscow, which daily bombards Ukrainian civilians and territory, branded the military offensive a “terrorist attack”.
A humiliated Putin blasted the attack on the Kursk region as a "major provocation".
The Russian Army released footage of strikes on the advancing Ukrainian vehicles, including the destruction of a surface-to-air missile system inside Ukraine.
The latest cross-border offensive is being seen as Kyiv's biggest attack on Russian territory in months.
Russia is pouring in reinforcements, but so is Ukraine.
It is already known that Ukraine is in control of the key Sudzha gas metering station, which is used as a gas transit to Europe through Ukraine.
Russia has sent a general to the Kursk region - Major-General Apty Alaudinov, commander of the Akhmat (Chechen) special forces - who vowed to defeat the Ukrainians.
By James Halpin, Foreign News Reporter
Ukraine has attacked Russia itself a number of times since Russia invaded their neighbour in February 2022.
The strikes have included both ground assaults with tanks and troops, and also the use of long-range missiles.
In March, Ukraine-supporting Russian rebels from the Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL), Siberian Battalion (SB) and Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK) launched a two-pronged assault.
In May last year, the Free Russia Legion attacked the country as they sought to "build a free Russia".
None of the incursions have so far been able to hold any land, with the invaders being beaten back or retreating.
Ultimately, they seek to stretch Russian forces, strike Russia in unprotected areas, and destroy critical infrastructure like logistics hubs, ammunition depots, or disrupt Russian events.
He said: "The enemy has entered the border territories.
“Several settlements are occupied by the enemy.
“He is trying to advance as much as possible, building up all his forces, which he has moved from the Belarusian border.”
Ukraine was “throwing everything” at the incursion.
The commander added: “God willing, this issue will be resolved, these forces will be destroyed.
"The [war] this year will end with Russia's victory. Those who believe in God do not doubt it, as I do not doubt it.
"The enemy who will be watching us now: Hello to him, because I think these days are the last in his life."
