Incredible map shows Ukraine swarming over Russian territory 'like maple syrup’

A stunning map show the sheer extent of Ukraine’s advance into Russia’s Kursk region, where the authorities have urged civilians to evacuate from what is described as a “very tense situation”.

Russian forces are still struggling to repel a surprise Ukrainian attack after nearly a week of fierce fighting.

And the infographic, shared by among others former British Army officer Nicholas Drummond, suggests Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces are making remarkable progress, pushing to the boundaries of the city of Kursk itself - 60 miles from the Ukrainian border.

Jay in Kyiv, the blogger who shared the map on X, commented: "Ukrainian Forces pouring over Russia's Kursk region like sweet, sweet maple syrup.”

Meanwhile Mr Drummond, a defence analyst and strategic consultant who specialises in Land Warfare, described it as a "Neat graphic showing Ukraine’s excursion into Mother Russia."

Russia’s emergency authorities say more than 76,000 people have fled their homes in areas of Kursk, where Ukrainian troops and armor poured across the border on August.

Ukrainian forces swiftly rolled into the town of Sudzha about six miles over the border after launching the attack. They reportedly still hold the western part of the town, which is the site of an important natural gas transit station.

The Ukrainian operation is taking place under tight secrecy, and its goals - especially whether Kyiv’s forces aim to hold territory or are staging a raid - remain unclear.

The stunning move which caught the Kremlin’s forces unawares counters Russia’s unrelenting effort in recent months to punch through Ukrainian defenses at selected points along the front line in eastern Ukraine.

Russia has seen previous incursions into its territory since the invasion of February 24, 2022, but the foray into the Kursk region marked the largest attack on its soil since World War II, embarrassing President Vladimir Putin and constituting a milestone in the hostilities.

The advance has delivered a blow to Putin’s efforts to pretend that life in Russia has largely remained unaffected by the war. State propaganda has tried to play down the attack, emphasising the authorities’ efforts to help residents of the region and seeking to distract attention from the military’s failure to prepare for the attack and quickly repel it.

Retired General Andrei Gurulev, a member of the lower house of the Russian parliament, criticised the military for failing to properly protect the border.

He noted that while the military has set up minefields in the border region, it has failed to deploy enough troops to block enemy raids.

Writing on his own messaging app, he said: “Regrettably, the group of forces protecting the border didn’t have its own intelligence assets.

“No one likes to see the truth in reports, everybody just wants to hear that all is good.”

Speaking last week, Samuel Cranny Evans, an Associate Fellow with the Royal United Services Insitute, said he like many others was surprised by Ukraine’s bold move.

He told Express.co.uk: "“The Ukrainian forces do seem to be performing well and are taking a toll on the Russian units there.

"It is likely that Russia will have to pull forces from other areas like Belgorod to try and stem the advances and limit the damage they cause.”

He continued: ""The main question, as is always the case with offensives in this war, is what will it cost and what will the Ukrainians not be able to do because of that cost. For instance, if the offensive somehow breaks the Russian army and causes a general rout, then it will have been worth the risk.

"However, if it does not do that and only succeeds in tying Russian conscripts down who are only able to serve inside Russia, then it may end up doing that at the expense of Ukrainian territory being taken.

"Those units seem to be well equipped and effective, they might have made a better contribution in Donetsk in the fights for Chasiv Yar and Toretsk.”