President Vladimir Putin told Russian media on Feb. 18 that Russian forces had crossed into Ukrainian territory from Kursk Oblast, a claim General Staff spokesperson Dmytro Lykhovyi has dismissed as part of a disinformation campaign.

Putin announced that Russian troops crossed the border with Ukraine in the Kursk region and launched a large-scale offensive. "That's not true," denies Andrii Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian government's Centre for Countering Disinformation (CPD).

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin has claimed the alleged "beginning of an offensive on Ukraine" from Russia’s Kursk region. He states that Russian forces are "advancing" along the entire frontline, according to Russian media and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).