Rightly embarrassed, Putin ordered the Kremlin to recapture Kursk by Oct. 1. And on Wednesday, Russian troops dutifully launched a counterattack along the western edge of the Ukrainian salient. “Russia's counteroffensive to drive Ukrainians out of the Kursk region has officially begun,” Finnish analyst Joni Askola announced.

A Russian counter-offensive to recover parts of Kursk lost to Ukrainian forces following a surprise, cross-border attack is underway but is yet to gain momentum.

Moscow’s reaction to this unprecedented development has been and remains of dual nature. On one hand, following a long-established tradition, Russian

The Kremlin has begun a counteroffensive to push back the first military incursion into Russian territory since World War II, as President Vladimir Putin warned that long-range strikes into Russia would elevate the conflict with Ukraine into direct war with NATO.

The Russian president is trying to frame Ukraine's unprecedented actions on Russian soil as a futile attempt to distract his own military.

Ukraine's Air Assault Forces released video it said showed the besting of a Russian attempt to storm positions.

The officer, who preferred to stay anonymous, said his military leadership want to hold their positions at all costs, often leading to the loss of troops and resources. That approach, he says, was resulting in a number of “cauldrons”,

Threats from Russian leader Vladimir Putin regarding allowing Ukraine to strike Russia with Western missiles represent highly dangerous rhetoric, though it is not unprecedented, according to White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.