Video Shows Ukrainian Soldiers Ripping Down Russian Flags In Kursk Advances

Ukrainian soldiers have pulled down Russian flags in the border Kursk region, footage appears to show, as Kyiv forges on with its cross-border incursion for a sixth day.

Footage widely circulating online on Sunday appear to show at least two different groups of Ukrainian fighters ripping down Russian flags attached to buildings in Kursk.

Ukraine launched an incursion into Kursk, which borders its northeastern Sumy region, on Tuesday.

One video purportedly shows fighters standing on a Russian flag pulled from a building in Guevo, a village not far from the border with Ukraine and directly south of the town of Sudzha that has been the site of clashes since Ukraine launched its cross-border operation early on Tuesday. A fighter then replaces the flag with the Ukrainian blue and yellow.

Another clip, shared by open-source intelligence accounts, appears to show a Ukrainian soldier standing on the shoulders of a fellow fighter to take down a Russian flag on a council building in Sverdlikovo, a Kursk village northwest of Sudzha.

Newsweek could not independently verify the footage, and has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

It is not yet clear what Kyiv's objectives are with the cross-border assault, but some have suggested the push could strengthen Ukraine's negotiating position, or hammer home the proximity of the war to Russia's population while forcing Moscow to pull assets away from the fiercest front-line battles.

An anonymous Kyiv official told AFP on Sunday that "thousands" of fighters are involved.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Maria Zakharova, said on Sunday that the incursion had the "sole purpose of intimidating the civilian population of Russia," and it made "no sense from a military point of view."

"A tough response from the Russian Armed Forces will not be long in coming," Zakharova said.

Russia appears to have been caught off-guard and quickly redeployed reinforcements to the border. Russian officials have repeatedly claimed to have stopped Ukraine advancing in Kursk, although Western experts suggest Kyiv's troops have advanced over the weekend.

Reports from Russia's Defense Ministry on Sunday indicated it had prevented Ukrainian armored vehicles from breaking through in the village of Tolpino north of Korenevo, where fighting was reported from the start of the incursion—other Kursk settlements, including sites up to 20 miles from Ukraine's border.

An attempt by Ukraine to "break through" in the Belovsky district, southeast of Sudzha, was stopped, Moscow added.

Kyiv officials have largely avoided commenting on the push, which is the most significant advance into Russian territory since the start of full-scale war nearly two and a half years ago.

Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, acknowledged the incursion for the first time late on Saturday, saying he had heard from Kyiv's army chief, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, about "actions to push the war out into the aggressor's territory."

Moscow's Emergency Situations Ministry said on Saturday that more than 76,000 people had been evacuated so far from Kursk.

Footage had circulated late last week, attributed to Ukraine's 61st Brigade and shared by Ukrainian media, purported to show Ukrainian soldiers with Kyiv's yellow and blue flag outside a Gazprom facility in Sudzha. Newsweek could not independently verify the footage.

A prominent Russian military blogger said on Sunday that Ukraine had "caused the greatest destruction in the villages of Goncharovka and Zaoleshenka," both of which sit on the outskirts of Sudzha.

"The situation remains tense due to the large number of Ukrainian troops involved," the blogger said.

Russian authorities reported overnight drone and missile attacks on several border regions on Sunday. The Kremlin's Defense Ministry said early on Sunday that its air defenses had destroyed 14 drones and four Tochka-U tactical missiles over the border Kursk region.

A downed Ukrainian missile fell on a multistory building in the city of Kursk overnight, injuring 13 people, Kursk acting regional governor Alexei Smirov said in post to messaging app Telegram.

On Sunday, Kyiv authorities said Russia had launched ballistic missiles and "several dozens" of explosive drones at the capital overnight. A father and his 4-year-old son were killed, Ukrainian authorities said.

Kyiv's suburbs "took the hit" from the missiles, but all drones were shot down, the head of the city's military administration, Serhiy Popko, said in a post to Telegram.

Ukraine's air force separately said that Russia attacked its territory with four North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles, launched from the border Voronezh region, and 57 drones. All but four of the drones were intercepted, the air force said.

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