KYIV, Ukraine — In a major bet last summer, Ukraine launched a daring offensive on Russian soil, the first invasion of Russia since World War II. That incursion into the Kursk region stunned Moscow and provided a much-needed morale boost for Ukrainians, but after months of fierce fighting, Russia has recently clawed back almost all of the territory lost.

As efforts now intensify to reach a peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia, Ukraine appears to be gambling again with a small-scale incursion into Russia. In recent days, the Ukrainian army has staged a new cross-border push into the Belgorod region, according to Ukrainian officials, analysts of open-source intelligence and Russian military bloggers.

While the extent of the Ukrainian push into Belgorod was unclear and Ukraine’s intentions are unclear, military analysts said it was possibly an effort to draw Russian forces from Kursk to alleviate pressure there. Ukraine may also hope that grabbing another patch of Russian land could provide added diplomatic leverage, analysts said.

But Moscow has shown no willingness to make real concessions while Ukrainian troops remain on Russian territory.

The incursion appears to be much more limited in scope than the Kursk operation and has so far only secured a thin band of territory across the border, military analysts say, citing video of the battle they have verified. It was unclear how many troops were involved or the extent of the Russian response. Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged a new attack on Russian soil. But three Ukrainian military and government officials confirmed that an operation was continuing in the Belgorod region of southern Russia, near territory Ukraine captured in the neighboring Kursk region last summer. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Russia has not said anything publicly about any Belgorod incursion.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region, said in a Telegram post Friday that parts of the region were currently unsafe, citing drones and artillery attacks, but he did not mention Ukrainian troops crossing the border.

Andriy Kovalenko, a senior Ukrainian government official focused on Russian disinformation operations, declined to say if a cross-border incursion had taken place.

But he said fighting continued to protect Ukraine from a Russian attack and that included “the destruction of enemy concentrations on the territory of Belgorod region, because the enemy planned to use these concentrations on our territory.”

Russian military bloggers, including the prominent analyst Valery Shiryaev, said that Ukraine had used armored vehicles to cross the border.

Both Russia and Ukraine have been trying to secure and strengthen their positions — on the battlefield and diplomatically — before the next U.S.-brokered talks begin at a yet-to-be-determined date.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin proposed Friday to temporarily put Ukraine under external governance as part of efforts to reach a peaceful settlement, in remarks that reflected the Kremlin leader’s determination to achieve his war goals.

In televised remarks broadcast early Friday, Putin reaffirmed his claim that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whose term expired last year, lacks the legitimacy to sign a peace deal. Under Ukraine’s constitution it is illegal for the country to hold national elections while it’s under martial law. Putin claimed that any agreement that is signed with the current Ukrainian government could be challenged by its successors and said new elections could be held under external governance.

— The Associated Presss contributed to this report.