UK-donated tanks used in Kyiv’s Russia incursion

Ukraine surprised Russia and its allies when it launched its offensive into Russia’s western border region of Kursk.

The amount of Russian territory seized is uncertain, with both countries making conflicting statements.

Russia has declared a state of emergency in its Kursk and Belgorod regions. Yan Furtsev, a local official with Russia’s liberal opposition party Yabloko, told the BBC about 180,000 civilians in Kursk needed to be evacuated.

The operation by Kyiv appears to be aimed at diverting Russia forces away from Ukraine in order to defend their own border.

The incursion has raised questions about how Ukraine uses weapons donated by its western allies.

Speaking to BBC’s Newshour programme, Latvia’s Foreign Minister Baiba Braze said that a “consultation among legal experts within Nato countries” has concluded that “the right to self defence also covers the right to counter-attack”.

Earlier this year, David Cameron, then the UK’s foreign secretary, said Ukraine “absolutely has the right to strike back at Russia”.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said his remarks were tantamount to admitting the West was involved in a “hybrid war” against Moscow.

The UK is one of the biggest donor of military aid to Ukraine, behind the US and Germany.