[ad_1]
Russia has deployed additional tanks, artillery and rocket systems to the southern Kursk region and implemented “anti-terrorist” measures in border areas to resist a sudden incursion by Ukrainian troops.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops released a video claiming they had taken control of a town near the border, the first graphic evidence of their advance across the frontier.
Another video posted on social media and verified by Reuters showed a convoy of about 15 burned-out Russian military trucks spread out along a road in the Kursk region, with bodies on some of them, offering new evidence of the toll taken by the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
Alexey Smirnov, acting governor of Kursk region, said debris from the drone landed on a substation near Kurchatov, one of Russia’s largest nuclear power plants with four reactors. Power was cut to the region.
The head of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency urged both sides to exercise restraint as the conflict took place 60 kilometers from the border.
Russian diplomats in Vienna told the IAEA that fragments of what could be a downed missile had been found, but there was no evidence the station had been attacked.
Moscow’s troops have been gradually advancing in eastern Ukraine for months, but Ukrainian troops breached the border on Tuesday, catching Russian forces off guard.
Politicians and the military are calling Ukraine an “invasion,” nearly two and a half years after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor.
In the early hours of Saturday (August 10), Russian news agencies reported that the National Anti-Terrorism Committee had implemented anti-terrorist measures in the Kursk region and the nearby Bryansk and Belgorod regions.
The statement said Alexander Bortnikov, head of Russia’s Federal Security Service intelligence service, made the decision in response to Ukraine’s “unprecedented attempts to destabilize a number of regions.”
The measures include possible evictions of residents, traffic restrictions, increased security around sensitive sites and phone tapping, Russian news agencies said.
Two days after Russian military chief of staff Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin that the offensive had been stopped, Russia’s Defense Ministry said its troops “continue to repel an attempted invasion by the Ukrainian armed forces.”
Russia is sending reinforcements with troops equipped with Grad multiple rocket systems, artillery and tanks, Interfax news agency quoted the ministry as saying.
The video is said to be from a Russian gas facility
Ukrainian video purportedly shows Ukrainian troops taking control of a gas measuring facility operated by Gazprom in the town of Sudja.
“The town is controlled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the town is calm and all buildings are intact,” a soldier said in the video, adding that “Gazprom’s strategic facilities” were controlled by a Ukrainian battalion.
Reuters was unable to verify the video and Ukraine’s military general staff did not comment. President Volodymyr Zelensky has remained silent on the operation, but he hinted clearly on Thursday, without mentioning the Kursk operation.
He praised the army’s ability to “take advantage of the enemy by surprise,” and in his nightly video address, he thanked the army for capturing Russian soldiers for use in future negotiations.
“It’s very important and has been particularly effective over the last three days,” he said.
Ben Barry, a land warfare analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that while the overall strategic objectives of the situation in Ukraine remain unclear, the incident has exposed Russia’s shortcomings and overturned the traditional view that neither side can advance into war without suffering heavy losses.
“They clearly achieved a level of surprise that speaks to the inadequacy of Russian intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities,” he said in a telephone interview.
A Ukrainian Telegram channel posted a video of destroyed Russian trucks, saying they were hit by a HIMARS rocket system provided by the United States. Russian bloggers also attributed the attack to HIMARS.
Reuters was unable to determine how the vehicles were destroyed.
The United States announced a new round of aid to Ukraine worth $125 million, including Stinger missiles, artillery shells and anti-armor systems. Zelensky said the aid was “critical to our military’s ability to resist the Russian attack.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry released its own video it said showed a drone destroying a Ukrainian tank and howitzer near Sudja, a location Reuters has verified.
Entering Russian territory
The Russian Defense Ministry said that over the past 24 hours, Russian troops, air strikes and artillery fire “suppressed the enemy’s attempts to attack deep into Russian territory in the Kursk direction.”
The report said Ukraine lost a total of 945 soldiers and 102 armored vehicles, but did not mention Russian losses.
Reuters could not verify the battlefield reports. On Wednesday, Gerasimov had said the Ukrainian army offensive was being launched by up to 1,000 soldiers.
The Institute for the Study of War said in an overnight report that geo-located footage and Russian reporting indicated Ukrainian forces “continue to advance rapidly.”
Unconfirmed reports from Russian sources say Ukrainian troops have advanced as far as 35 kilometers from the border.
Read more by Euractiv
[ad_2]
Source link
