On the 19th, Russian President Putin stated that he learned in the afternoon of the same day that soldiers of the Russian Armed Forces had crossed the Russia-Ukraine border in the Kursk region. He emphasized that the Russian Armed Forces were launching an offensive along the entire contact line.
On the same day, the head of the anti - disinformation center of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council denied Putin's statement. He said that a Russian sabotage and reconnaissance group had attempted to enter Ukrainian territory and that this group had been destroyed.
On the same day, Dmitro Likhovyi, a spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, also said that the situation claimed by Russia did not match the facts. Likhovyi said that as of 15:00 on February 19, a total of 12 battles had been recorded in the Kursk region that day, of which 3 were still ongoing, and the remaining 9 Russian attacks had been repelled.