Ukraine says it controls 1,000 sq km of Russia's Kursk region – and this is how it happened

The Ukrainian armed forces have carried out a lightning incursion into the Kursk region of Russia, claiming to have secured 1,000 square kilometres of land after taking Moscow by surprise. 

This latest military action has resulted in large numbers of Russian troops being captured - a good bargaining chip to get Ukrainian prisoners back - and providing a much-needed morale boost for the Ukrainian armed forces and wider population.

It is believed that Ukraine exploited a weakness in Russia's electronic warfare coverage along this section of the border, deploying interceptor drones to knock out Russian reconnaissance capabilities, and using short-range jammers to cover the attack.

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This in turn prevented Russian artillery from targeting approaching Ukrainian forces, who used a variety of fast vehicles.

Some reportedly seen on the operation include American-donated Humvees, the German Marder infantry fighting vehicle, the Ukrainian-made BTR 4E armoured personnel carrier and Turkish Cobra 2 armoured vehicles.

No British Challenger 2 or US Abrams tanks have been seen during the operation, possibly a deliberate decision due to political sensitivities.

However, there have been claimed sightings of Polish PT-91 tanks - an upgrade of the Soviet-era T-72.

It has been speculated that dive bombing may be taking place against Russian trenches, as footage has allegedly shown a fixed-wing UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) carrying a big warhead.

The incursion is believed to have been supported by long-range quadcopter drones, used against Russian positions before their positions were stormed by ground forces.

The Ukrainians would then repeat the process as they pushed through the Russian defences.

Now of course along with speed and surprise the Ukrainians also picked a very thinly defended bit of the border, and that played a big part.

But as many are saying, how the Ukrainians executed this, their military creativity, is once again something that will be studied for a long time.

Reportedly, the acting governor of the Kursk region told President Putin that 28 villages in the area had fallen to Ukrainian forces.

While the attack will boost morale for Ukraine, it is unclear how secure its positions are or exactly how much of the region is under its control.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said: "There was a report by Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi on the frontline situation and all key defence areas, as well as the operation in the Kursk region.

"These are, in particular, the areas from which the Russian army launched strikes on our Sumy region.

"General Syrskyi reported that about 1,000 square kilometres in the Kursk region are under our control.

"It is only fair to destroy Russian terrorists where they are, where they launch their strikes from, Russian military airfields, Russian logistics."