SYDNEY, September 4. /TASS/. Two correspondents for Australia's ABC News, accompanied by Ukrainian service members, illegally crossed the border into Russia’s Kursk Region.

According to a report by Kathryn Diss and Fletcher Yeung, posted on the media outlet’s website, they made a trip to the town of Sudzha, crossing the Russian border for the first time since the start of Moscow’s special military operation.

"Crossing the border here doesn’t just carry the physical risk of being in a war zone; it also means that as individuals, we’re unlikely to ever be able to return to Russia," the reporters write.

Earlier, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) launched criminal investigations into a number of foreign journalists who had illegally crossed the Russian border. The FSB said on August 27 that investigations were underway into Italian journalists Simone Traini and Stefania Battistini, CNN reporter Nick Paton Walsh, Nicholas Simon Connolly, a reporter for the German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (designated in Russia as a foreign agent media outlet) and Ukrainian correspondents Natalya Nagornaya, Olesya Borovik and Diana Butsko. They are charged with illegally crossing the Russian border under Article 322.2 of the Russian Criminal Code, which carries a penalty of up to five years in prison.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said earlier that Moscow saw the activities of Western media outlets in the Kursk Region as evidence of their direct involvement in an act of hybrid aggression. The diplomat reiterated that foreign journalists were allowed to visit Russia only if they were granted the required visa and received a corresponding permit from the Russian Foreign Ministry.

On August 6, Russia’s borderline Kursk Region came under a massive attack from Ukraine. A state of federal emergency is in effect in the region. Local residents are being evacuated to safe areas. According to the Emergencies Ministry, over 11,500 people, including more than 3,500 children, are staying at temporary accommodation centers, health and social facilities across Russia.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, Kiev has lost over 9,700 troops and 81 tanks since fighting began in the Kursk area. The operation to destroy Ukrainian troops continues.