Rightly embarrassed, Putin ordered the Kremlin to recapture Kursk by Oct. 1. And on Wednesday, Russian troops dutifully launched a counterattack along the western edge of the Ukrainian salient. “Russia’s counteroffensive to drive Ukrainians out of the Kursk region has officially begun,” Finnish analyst Joni Askola announced.

The Russians targeted Snagosk, a village just south of the Seym River, eight miles north of the border. The main thrust involved at least eight tanks and other armored vehicles from the Russian 51st Airborne Regiment. Hours into the counterattack, the village remains contested. “The situation on the left flank of our group in Kursk worsened,” Ukrainian analysis group Deep State noted.

Simultaneously, a separate Russian force rolled toward the village of Ulanok, on the Ukrainians’ right flank in Kursk.

Exactly how the Russians got to Snagosk is unclear. There are two routes to the village from Russian-controlled territory: from the northwest across the Seym River or across dry ground from the nearby town of Korenevo. The latter seems likelier, as the Ukrainian military has destroyed every permanent bridge over the Seym in Kursk—and also destroyed most or all of the pontoon bridges the Russians have assembled in the area.

It’s a delicate situation for the Ukrainians at a delicate time. The general staff in Kyiv took a big risk in ordering an attack in Kursk. In eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, the powerful Russian 2nd Combined Arms Army has been steadily marching toward Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian stronghold sitting astride some important supply lines.