The Russian Defence Ministry says that Moscow’s military and security forces killed 234 fighters while thwarting an incursion into Russian border regions earlier in the day.

In a statement, the ministry blamed the attack on the “Kyiv regime” and “Ukraine’s terrorist formations”, insisting that the Russian military and border forces were able to stop the attackers and avert a cross-border raid.

It also said the attackers lost seven tanks and five armoured vehicles.

The reports of border fighting earlier on Tuesday were murky, and it was impossible to ascertain with any certainty what was unfolding in Russia’s Kursk and Belgorod regions.

Cross-border attacks in the area have occurred sporadically since the war began and have been the subject of claims and counterclaims, as well as disinformation and propaganda.