Ukraine says it has made progress in Kursk region, NATO says incursion is ‘legal’ – Euractiv

Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander General Oleksandr Sersky said on Friday (August 30) that his troops had advanced 2 kilometers into Russia’s Kursk region over the past day, continuing a cross-border incursion that began more than three weeks ago.

Serski also said a recent attempt by Russian forces to break through defenses in the Pokrovsk region of eastern Ukraine had failed.

Kiev launched a raid on Kursk in western Russia on August 6. Kiev claimed control of about 100 settlements and said it had penetrated 35 kilometers into the region, but later progress appeared to have stalled.

Serski said on Friday that his forces were pushing forward again and had captured 5 square kilometers of Russian territory in the past 24 hours.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky heard Serski’s report via video link, and Zelensky said on Telegram that the Ukrainian military has captured more prisoners.

Kiev said the incursion was to protect its border settlements from ongoing Russian attacks. The invasion is arguably Kiev’s boldest move in the war since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Analysts also said Ukraine had expected Russia to redeploy troops to the region, undermining Moscow’s main offensive in the east.

But the Russian army’s advance has not slowed down significantly. The Russian army said they were getting closer and closer to the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, which is a strategic transportation and evacuation hub located on an important supply line connecting major cities in central and eastern Ukraine.

Serski said the Russians tried to break through Ukrainian defenses in the Pokrovsk region over the past day but failed. The Ukrainian General Staff estimated the number of attacks in the Pokrovsk direction at 58 on Thursday and 36 as of Friday.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said early Friday that its troops had captured three settlements in eastern Ukraine.

Russia called Ukraine’s Kursk operation a “major provocation” and said it would retaliate. On Monday, Russia fired more than 200 missiles and drones into Ukraine, targeting the energy sector in one of the largest such attacks of the war.

Following the Russian missile strike, officials in Kiev renewed calls for allies to start shooting down Russian missiles and drones over western Ukraine to help the country’s fragmented air defenses and protect civilians.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said on Telegram on Friday that he discussed the issue at an informal meeting of EU defense ministers.

He urged allies to create a safe zone – which he called a “defense belt” – in western Ukraine.

NATO: Ukraine invasion ‘legal’

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made the first reaction to the Ukrainian army’s incursion into Russian territory, telling the German weekly Welt am Sonntag that Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region was legal and fell within Kiev’s right to self-defense.

“Ukraine has the right to defend itself. Under international law, this right does not end at the border,” Stoltenberg told the newspaper, adding that NATO was not informed of Ukraine’s plans in advance and therefore did not get involved.

NATO’s secretary general said Ukraine would face risks if it advanced into Russian territory, but it was up to Kiev to decide how to conduct military action.

“(Ukrainian) President Zelensky has made it clear that the operation is aimed at creating a buffer zone to prevent further Russian attacks across the border,” he said.

“Like all military operations, this carries risks. But it is Ukraine’s decision how to defend itself.”

(Editing by Georgi Gotev)

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