Kiev launched cross-border attacks on Tuesday to sabotage the talks between the Russian and US presidents, according to Moscow

Ukrainian troops launched multiple cross-border attacks on Belgorod Region on Tuesday, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, which linked the new incursion attempt to the phone call between President Donald Trump and his counterpart, Vladimir Putin.

During the day, the Ukrainian military mounted five attacks on the Russian region, targeting the border villages of Demidovka and Prilesye.

The operation involved 200 soldiers and 29 pieces of military hardware, including five tanks, the MOD stated.

All the attacks were repelled, with the invading force losing up to 60 servicemen, at least one tank, three military breacher vehicles, and seven other armored units, according to the MOD.

The Defense Ministry claimed that Ukraine had wanted to generate “a negative background” for the long-anticipated Trump-Putin talks.

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Footage circulating online purports to show Ukrainian armor, including several US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, breaching through concrete anti-tank obstacles installed on the border. The armor comes under artillery fire, with some vehicles hitting landmines, as well as getting attacked by multiple fiber optics-guided FPV drones.

The vehicles involved in the attack feature the distinctive white triangle tactical marking used by the Ukrainian invasion force operating in Russia’s Kursk Region since last August.

Kiev had planned to use its occupation of parts of the Kursk Region as leverage during negotiations with Moscow. In recent weeks, however, Russian troops have liberated Sudzha, the largest town occupied by Ukrainians during their incursion, as well as the vast majority of the territory.