Ukraine’s surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region has continued into a second day, prompting Vladimir Putin to convene a meeting with his top defence and law enforcement officials, writes The Guardian.

“A report from one Russia military blogger suggested Ukrainian forces had advanced northwards, possibly as far as nine miles (15km) from the border, along a highway north of the border village of Sverdlikovo, but this could not be verified. Official and unofficial Russian sources reported that a force of several hundred soldiers had crossed a lightly defended part of the border on Tuesday morning. Russia’s defence ministry said on Wednesday that the attack was being neutralised.

It had claimed Russian forces had repelled the raid on Tuesday, but acknowledged at lunchtime on Wednesday that fighting was ongoing. It said they had used air and missile strikes and artillery fire against the invaders, inflicting 260 casualties and knocking out 50 armoured vehicles.

In televised remarks at the start of a meeting with members of the Russian government, Putin described the raid as a major provocation and said he would discuss it with top security officials later in the day.

Several Russian bloggers reported that Putin would hold a meeting of the Russian security council in response to the latest military developments, but there was no official confirmation.

The acting governor of Kursk oblast, Alexei Smirnov, said he had reported the operational situation to Putin. Civilians were being evacuated from frontline areas and 300 people were housed in temporary accommodation overnight”.