August 6, 2024: Ukrainian troops smash across the border in the biggest foreign attack on Russia since World War Two. The incursion hands Ukraine its biggest battlefield gains since 2022, after months on the back foot. Russia rushes in reserve troops, and nearly 200,000 Russian civilians are forced to flee their homes.

Russia said on Tuesday that its troops had retaken over 100 square kilometres (38.6 square miles) of territory and 12 settlements in its Kursk region as part of an offensive to force the Ukrainian army to flee from western Russia.