For today, links to eight reports from Reuters, the Moscow Times, the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Tass, and the Kyiv Independent; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials below. (GAZA entry for this date is HERE.) — MCM

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Ukraine pierces Russian border triggering major battles, by Guy Faulconbridge and Lidia Kelly | Reuters  MOSCOW — Russia said today it was fighting intense battles against Ukrainian forces which had penetrated Russia’s Kursk region in one of the largest incursions into Russia since the Ukraine war began in February 2022. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from the Moscow Times.

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Putin accuses Ukraine of a ‘large-scale provocation’ in southwestern Russia, by Samya Kullab | AP  KYIV — Russian President Vladimir Putin today described a Ukrainian incursion into the country’s southwestern Kursk region as a “large-scale provocation” as his officials asserted that they were fighting off cross-border raids for a second day. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for report from Tass.

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Russia says Ukraine opening ‘second front’ in Africa. From AFP. Russia on Wednesday said Ukraine was opening a “second front” in Africa after Mali and Niger broke off diplomatic relations with Kyiv, accusing it of support for “terrorist groups.” READ MORE . . . Click HERE for report from Tass.

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Russian troops wipe out oil refinery supplying fuel to Ukrainian military. From Tass. MOSCOW — Russian troops destroyed an oil refinery that supplied fuel to the Ukrainian military and hit a mercenaries’ deployment site over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry said today in a broader statement. READ MORE . . .

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Russian offensive expected to wind down within 2 months, Budanov says, by Kateryna Denisova and news desk | The Kyiv Independent  The main pressure of Russia’s offensive should come to a close within one and a half or two months, Ukraine’s military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said in comments reported today by Forbes Ukraine. READ MORE . . .