(Reuters) – Russia and Ukraine accused each other of trying to launch cross-border attacks on Tuesday, each saying its forces had repelled attempted incursions.
Both sides said their forces were in full control of their territory on their own side of the border and had inflicted losses on enemy troops.
Russia’s Defence Ministry, in a statement reported by Russian news agencies, said Russian forces had thwarted five Ukrainian attempts to push across the border into its southwestern Belgorod region.
It said the attacks sought to disrupt talks between Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin and U.S. President Donald Trump aimed at reaching a settlement to the three-year-old war.
Ukraine’s military said its forces had “successfully halted all attempts by the occupiers to secure a foothold” inside the Sumy region.
Ukrainian forces launched a mass incursion into the Kursk region last August, though Russian troops have recovered much of the territory initially seized and have reported considerable gains against Ukrainian forces over the past week.
Russian forces last year pushed their way into the Kharkiv region and have in recent weeks been intensifying attacks on the Sumy region.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski and Oleskandr Kozhukhar; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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