It’s a move that has taken Russia – and the world – by surprise. In recent months, the feeling had been growing that Russia’s war with Ukraine had reached a deadlock. Or worse, that, inch by inch, Ukraine was slowly losing ground to Russia.

Then, last week, came the unexpected news that Ukraine had launched a surprise incursion across a lightly defended border into Russia, taking towns and villages along the way. Days later, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, confirmed the historic attack was taking place.

Dan Sabbagh, the Guardian’s defence and security editor, is in the Sumy region of Ukraine. He explains that while the Ukrainian troops have only captured tens of kilometres of land, Kyiv is hoping that it could be a turning point in the war. He tells Hannah Moore how Zelenskiy hopes the incursion could force Russia to move some of its troops from the eastern front, where the Ukrainians are losing ground, to fight the Kursk incursion. Sabbagh adds that the seemingly easy attack could provide a much needed psychological boost for battle-scarred Ukraine

Support The Guardian

The Guardian is editorially independent. And we want to keep our journalism open and accessible to all. But we increasingly need our readers to fund our work.

Support The Guardian