Putin's goons blame BRITAIN for Ukraine's Kursk incursion as Kremlin enters crisis mode

But with Russia now seemingly on the back foot, high-ranking officials have lashed out - with the UK in their cross-hairs.

Adalbi Shkhagoshev, who sits in Russia's State Duma, claimed "Britain participated in all such sorties... English was heard".

And Kremlin bigwigs were burning the midnight oil last night as they met for late-night crisis meetings with officials in Kursk about just how to respond to the Ukrainian counter-attack - which has now rumbled into its fourth day.

Images emerged of Putin himself in video calls with Kursk's acting regional governor, Alexei Smirnov, who said thousands of residents had been evacuated from the oblast.

But alongside the incursion, Ukrainian officials have launched a verbal assault on their enemies, too.

Volodymyr Zelensky's adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said Russia had "consistently believed legal norms do not apply to it, thus it can attack neighbouring countries with impunity".

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Podolyak continued: "But war is war, with its own rules, where the aggressor inevitably reaps corresponding outcomes... The root cause of any escalation, including with Russia's own territory, like Kursk, is solely Russia's unequivocal aggression."

But Sergei Mironov, who leads the Putin-allied A Just Russia party, called the Ukrainian assault a "terrorist attack" and "the invasion of an internationally recognised foreign territory".

Though both Zelensky himself and the United States have remained coy, with White House officials claiming the Americans had no prior knowledge of the attack.

In one of his trademark video addresses, the Ukrainian president praised his army for its ability "to surprise" and achieve results. He did not explicitly reference Kursk.

Despite the White House's distancing, Pentagon hawks were more bullish, with spokesperson Sabrina Singh confirming Ukraine's move into Kursk was indeed consistent with US policy.

Then on Thursday, Russia's defence ministry claimed the army and the Federal Security Service (FSB) had halted Ukraine's advance - and were "continuing to destroy" Ukrainian armed formations.

Former British military intelligence man Philip Ingram weighed in as the battle raged on, saying last night that "Ukraine has embarrassed Putin and the Russian military".

Ingram continued: "They've brought the war to ordinary Russians and set the conditions for negotiations... It is too early to tell Ukraine's ultimate objectives, but on the surface it could be a masterstroke if they can continue the advance and hold off Russian counterattacks."