KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian forces have thwarted another attempted cross-border incursion by Ukraine into southwestern Russia, a local official reported Sunday, months after Kiev staged an audacious attack on its nuclear-armed foe on which Moscow is still struggling to stop.

An “armed group” tried to breach the border between Ukraine and Russia’s Bryansk region on Sunday, its governor, Aleksandr Bogomaz, said, but was beaten back. Bogomaz did not clarify whether Ukrainian soldiers carried out the alleged attack, but claimed late Sunday that the situation was “stable and under control” by the Russian military.

There was no immediate acknowledgment or response from Ukrainian officials.

The region borders Kursk province, where Ukraine launched a surprise push on August 6 that shook the Kremlin and was Russia’s biggest attack since World War II. Hundreds of Russian prisoners were blindfolded and trucked away in the first moments of the lightning advance, and battle-reinforced Ukrainian units quickly advanced across hundreds of square miles (square kilometers) of territory.

Responsibility for previous incursions into Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk regions has been claimed by two troubled groups: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Russian Freedom Legion.

Russian officials and state media have tried to play down the significance of Kiev’s breakthrough in Kursk, but the country’s forces have so far failed to drive Ukrainian troops out of the province. Western officials have speculated that Moscow could send troops from North Korea to step up its efforts to do so, igniting the nearly three-year-old war and bringing geopolitical consequences as far as the Indo-Pacific region.

Russian lawmakers on Thursday ratified a pact with Pyongyang providing for mutual military assistance, a move that comes as the US confirmed the deployment of 3,000 North Korean troops to Russia.

North Korean units were detected in Kursk on Wednesday, according to Ukraine’s Main Intelligence Directorate, known by the acronym GUR. The soldiers underwent several weeks of training at bases in eastern Russia and were equipped with clothes for the coming winter, GUR said in a statement late Thursday. He provided no evidence for his claims.

Moscow warns the West against endorsing long-range attacks against Russia

Also on Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow was working on ways to respond if the US and its NATO allies allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with long-range Western missiles.

Putin told Russian state television that it was too early to say exactly how Moscow might react, but the defense ministry was looking at a number of options.

Russia has repeatedly signaled that it would see any such strikes as a major escalation. The Kremlin leader warned on September 12 that Moscow would be “at war” with US and NATO states if it approved, arguing that military infrastructure and personnel from the bloc should be involved in targeting and firing the missiles.

He reinforced the message by announcing a new version of the nuclear doctrine that considers a conventional attack on Russia by a non-nuclear nation that is backed by a nuclear power a joint attack on its country – a clear warning to the US and other allies. Kyiv.

Putin also said the revised document provided for the possible use of nuclear weapons in the event of a massive airstrike, opening the door to a potential nuclear response to any airstrike – an ambiguity meant to deter the West.

Ukrainian leaders have repeatedly said they need permission to strike weapons depots, airfields and military bases far from the border to motivate Russia to seek peace. In response, US defense officials have argued that the missiles are limited in number and that Ukraine already uses its own long-range drones to strike targets further into Russia.

That capability was highlighted by a Ukrainian drone strike in mid-September that hit a large Russian military depot in a town 500 kilometers (300 miles) from the border.

The US allows Kiev to use American-supplied weapons in more limited, cross-border attacks to counter attacks by Russian forces.

Civilian deaths reported in Kherson as warring sides trade drone strikes

In a separate update, Bryansk Governor Bogomaz claimed that more than a dozen Ukrainian drones were shot down in the region on Sunday. Separately, a total of at least 16 drones were shot down over other Russian regions, including Tambov province, about 450 kilometers (290 miles) north of the border, officials reported. No casualties were reported in any of the alleged attacks.

In the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, Russian shelling killed three civilians on Sunday, local governor Oleksandr Prokudin said. Another resident of Kherson died in a fire started by shells that hit a grill, according to the Emergency Service of Ukraine.

Air raid sirens wailed for more than three hours in Kiev overnight into Sunday, and city authorities later reported that “about 10” drones had been shot down. They said no one was hurt. The Ukrainian Air Force reported on Sunday that it shot down 41 drones launched by Russia over Ukrainian territory.