Vladimir Putin has just denied Russia is at all “nervous” about the Ukrainian troops occupying its land.

Ukrainian forces unexpectedly broke through Russian borders last month – the first time they’ve been breached since World War 2 – and are now occupying 1,000 sq km in the Kursk region.

Moscow’s troops are still occupying a far greater proportion of Ukraine (109,000 sq km), but the bold move from Kyiv sent a shockwave through the Kremlin.

And, to make matters worse for Russia, Putin’s top team seemed to be caught completely off-guard, while his troops are yet to expel the Ukrainians.

But, speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) on Thursday, the Russian president seemed to up the ante around the ongoing incursion.

According to Russian state news agency TASS, he said: “When we talk about these issues, first of all we should think about people who are certainly going through serious trials and suffering from these terrorist acts.

“It is the sacred duty of the [Russian] armed forces to do everything to kick the enemy out of these territories and to reliably protect our citizens.

“And, of course, the whole country must do everything to support people.”

Putin was initially pretty slow to react to Kyiv’s offensive, preferring to keep his troops on the attack in Ukraine’s Donbas region instead of moving them to Kurs.

Despite claiming it was Russia’s “sacred duty” to protect this land, he also admitted he was not prioritising defence.

He said: “The enemy’s goal was to make us nervous and worry and to transfer troops from one sector to another and stop our offensive in key areas, primarily in the Donbas. Did it work? No.”

According to the head of the Ukrainian army, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Russia has now sent 30,000 troops to defend Kursk to date – but they are still facing major losses.

The average daily Russian casualties (killed and wounded) in Ukraine has increased to 1,187 per day in August, due to the Kursk operation, according to the UK’s ministry of defence.

The MoD also claims Moscow has suffered over 610,000 casualties since invading its European neighbour in February 2022.

In its latest update on X, the MoD said: “Although Russian pressure on the whole frontline will continue over the next month, their capability constraints will likely continue to reduce their ability to exploit any tactical successes into wider operational gains.”

Meanwhile, the Kremlin in general is continuing to promote a more victorious message.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova, said: “The Kyiv regime and its Western sponsors remain obsessed with the idea of – as they put it – inflicting a strategic defeat on us.

“Given that the situation on the battlefield is getting worse for the Ukrainian armed forces, the Kyiv regime has started to promote what they call a new plan.”

She said Kyiv wanted to start using long-range missiles on Russia, a plan “of trouble” rather than one “of victory”, according to Zakharova.

She even claimed Ukraine’s leaders are “completely detached from reality” and “don’t care about anyone in Ukraine”.