Kiev says making progress in Russia, Moscow maintains pressure on eastern Ukraine

Ukraine claimed new progress in its offensive in Russia’s Kursk region on Thursday, while Russia claimed to have recaptured a village in the region while continuing to apply pressure southwards on the Donbass front.

On August 6, Ukrainian troops attacked the Kursk border region and captured dozens of locations in the largest foreign military operation on Russian territory since the end of World War II.

Ukrainian Army Commander Alexander Silsky claimed on Thursday that the army had advanced 35 kilometers in depth and had full control of 1,150 square kilometers of land and 82 districts, eight more than on Tuesday.

President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainian troops had completely “liberated” Sodja, a Russian town of 5,500 residents about 10 kilometers from the border that was the main conquest of Ukraine’s invasion.

Military Management

General Shilsky announced the establishment of a military government in the region, responsible for current affairs, logistics and ensuring security, indicating that the Ukrainians intend to remain in place for the long term.

Surprised by the ease with which highly mobile Ukrainian motorised units crossed the border, Russian forces have since assured that reinforcements have been sent and claimed to have recaptured the village of Krupets on Thursday.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov reported Thursday that “additional resources” would be allocated in the Belgorod region, which borders Kursk. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said the situation there was “extremely tense.”

The operation in the Kursk region is the first major advance for Ukraine since its victorious counteroffensive in late 2022. Zelensky said hundreds of Russian soldiers had been captured since August 6. This gave a second respite to Ukrainian troops, who have been retreating in the Donetsk region (Donbass, in the east) since another failed counteroffensive in the summer of 2023, facing more numerous and better-equipped Russian forces.

Charles yelled?

British media claimed on Thursday that Ukraine used Challenger 2 heavy tanks supplied by Britain in its offensive against Russia. Without confirming the information, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaïlo Podoliak said on Thursday that recent “changes on the front line” showed that Kiev was “effectively” using the “military and financial assistance” it received from strangers.

Ukrainian authorities have offered various reasons for attacking Russia: to force Moscow to withdraw its troops from other parts of the front line, to create a “buffer zone” on Russian territory to protect against bombings, or even to use it as a currency exchange in future negotiations.

However, the pressure does not appear to be easing in eastern Ukraine, where much of the fighting is still ongoing. Russia on Thursday claimed to have captured the village of Ivanivka, about 15 kilometers from the important logistical hub of Pokrovsk.

The commander of the Ukrainian army said the situation on the eastern and southern fronts remained “difficult but under control.” Despite this, the Pokrovsk government called on people to evacuate on Telegram on Thursday, stressing that the enemy was advancing “rapidly.”

Russian air strikes continue

Russian airstrikes also continued. Local Ukrainian authorities reported the deaths of three civilians in the Donetsk region, two in Kharkiv (northeast) and two in Kherson (south).

The local government of the Sumy region of Ukraine, located opposite the Kursk region, reported on Thursday evening that 56 Russian attacks took place during the day and more than 20,000 people in the region had been evacuated. According to her, a bomb dropped in the area of ​​the town of Krasnopilya, about ten kilometers from the Russian border, killed one civilian and injured three others.

In Kursk, the capital of the eponymous region, AFP journalists saw around 500 displaced people as the Red Cross distributed food and clothing on Thursday. More than 120,000 people have fled fighting and bombings, and nearly 2,000 more are likely in areas held by Ukrainian forces, according to official Russian figures.

According to a report provided by Russian authorities earlier this week, at least 12 civilians have been killed and more than 120 injured, including children, since the start of the Ukrainian operation.Finally, Ukraine announced on Wednesday that its army plans to open a humanitarian corridor in the Kursk region to facilitate the evacuation of civilians to Russia and Ukraine.

AFP

Did you find the error?Please let us know.