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In a brazen attack that caught Russia off-guard, 

 has sent a large ground force across its border and into western Russia.

The Ukrainian soldiers crossed the country's northeastern border Tuesday and now appear to be several miles inside Russia’s Kursk region, where they are operating in several villages. 

Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of Russia's general staff, said in a Kremlin briefing Wednesday that some 1,000 Ukrainian troops were taking part, backed by dozens of armored vehicles. Russia has sent reinforcements in an attempt to drive the Ukrainians back across the border.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin listened to the assessment with a look that appeared to be a mixture of impatience and disgust. He called the Ukrainian incursion a "large-scale provocation."

Ukraine has previously backed Russian exiles who carried out limited cross-border raids, but has never conducted its own operation on such a scale. 

Ukraine is not commenting on the current developments, and many details remain sketchy. In an interview with NPR, Mykhailo Podolak, one of the top advisers to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, declined to provide any specifics.

But in general terms, he seemed to provide the rationale for the operation, saying Ukraine needed to drive Russia away from border areas where it’s launching so many attacks. 

“We have to push them back in some areas if we want to make those areas safe for us. We are creating this buffer zone," said Podolyak.

Yet it's far from clear that Ukraine can carve out and hold a buffer zone on Russian territory.

Ukraine has far fewer troops than Russia, and some military analysts are questioning whether this incursion makes military sense. They say Ukraine needs all the forces in can muster to defend its own territory.

Poldolak acknowledged Ukraine is having a tough time in eastern Ukraine, where Russia has seized a number of villages in recent weeks. While no single village is critical, the Russian offensive has gained momentum in a war where the frontline has changed little over the past year. 

The Ukrainians say the main Russian aim appears to be the town of Pokrovsk, which serves as a transportation hub for sending Ukrainian troops and supplies to the frontlines. 

Russia has two key advantages in the fighting. With far more ground troops, the Russians often send wave after wave of soldiers to carry out assaults. Sometimes they even attack on motorcycles, though they often get cut down by Ukrainian fire. Still, the Russians have gained ground despite suffering high losses.

Secondly, the Russians have far greater airpower and are deploying as many as 250 jet fighters and bombers in frontline areas, according to Podolyak. 

Ukraine received its first batch of F-16 fighter jets last week. But the 10 or so planes is far short of the 100-plus planes Ukraine says it needs to effectively counter Russia in the skies.

"Today, our biggest problem is their supremacy in the air, the huge amount of glide bombs that give them the opportunity to attack us from longer distances," said Podolyak.

As the name indicates, glide bombs can be guided to a target from a distance and have been difficult for the Ukrainians to stop.

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Greg Myre

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Ukrainian soldiers appear to be several miles inside Russia’s Kursk region, where they are in several villages. Russia’s top military official says some 1,000 Ukrainian troops are taking part.

In a surprise attack, Ukraine sends a large force into western Russia

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