Ukraine not interested in occupying Russian land after incursion, Kyiv says

A marine assault team member rides a motorcycle towards a Ukrainian position at an undisclosed location (Russian Defence Ministry/AP)

The Russian Defence Ministry has said that its forces blocked an effort by Kyiv’s troops to expand a week-long incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, as a Ukrainian Foreign Ministry official said Kyiv has no intention of occupying Russian territory in the major operation.

Russian army units, fresh reserves, army aircraft, drone teams and artillery forces stopped Ukrainian armoured mobile groups from moving deeper into Russia, near the Kursk settlements of Obshchy Kolodez, Snagost, Kauchuk and Alexeyevsky, a Russian Defence Ministry statement said.