Thousands Of Ukrainian Troops On Incursion To 'Destabilise' Russia

Thousands of Ukrainian troops are taking part in an incursion aiming to destabilise Russia by showing up its weaknesses, a top Ukrainian official has told AFP as the assault entered its sixth day.

"We are on the offensive. The aim is to stretch the positions of the enemy, to inflict maximum losses and to destabilise the situation in Russia as they are unable to protect their own border," the security official said on condition of anonymity.

The Russian army had said about 1,000 Ukrainian troops were deployed in the cross-border incursion which began on Tuesday and appeared to catch the Kremlin off guard, allowing Ukrainian forces to penetrate Russian defensive lines.