On the third day of one of the biggest cross-border incursions of the war, Russian troops are engaged in combat with Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region, the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Thursday.
According to a ministry statement, the army is engaging Ukrainian combatants who are attempting to advance on the area from Ukraine’s Sumy region, and the Russian military and border guards have prevented Ukrainian forces from moving deeper into the Kursk region in south-west Russia.
According to the ministry, “individual units’ attempts to break through deeply into the territory in the Kursk direction are being suppressed.”
Though it wasn’t verified, the Washington-based think tank Institute for the Study of War said that as of Wednesday, Ukrainian forces had penetrated up to 10 kilometres (6 miles) into Russian territory.
Regarding the extent of the operation around the town of Sudzha, Ukrainian officials have remained silent.
“The opponent is withdrawing instead of moving forward by even a single metre. The fighting forces and equipment of the enemy are being deliberately destroyed.
According to Russian news agency RIA-Novosti, acting deputy governor of the Kursk area Andrei Belostotsky stated on Thursday, “We hope that shortly… the enemy will be stopped.”
The incursion was referred to as a “large-scale provocation” by Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday.
To tackle the “indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings, residential houses, ambulances with different types of weapons,” Putin called a meeting of his top defense and security officials.
He gave the Cabinet orders to organize relief efforts for the Kursk area. About 500 kilometers (320 miles) separate the fighting and Moscow.
Approximately 200 Ukrainian soldiers were injured and about 100 had died in the fighting, according to Russian news sources, which Army Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov informed Putin of during the meeting via video link.
At least two individuals, a paramedic, and an ambulance driver, were killed in the shelling of Ukraine, while twenty-four others were injured, according to a statement released on Wednesday by Maria Zakharova, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry.
The Russian assertions could not be independently verified. Now in its third year, disinformation and propaganda have been major factors in the fight.
The national security spokesperson for the White House, John Kirby, said that the Biden administration has communicated with the Ukrainians to gain a better understanding of the events, but he declined to comment on the operation.
When it comes to the deployment of Ukrainian armed forces, the cross-border incursion would be the biggest one that Ukraine has seen since Russia began its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
Moscow’s offensive operations in various areas of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where Russian forces have boosted strikes and are progressively moving towards operationally significant victories, may be weakened if Kyiv is successful in luring Russian reserves into the area.
Laptops 1000However, there’s a chance that it would force outmanned Ukrainian forces to advance farther along the front line, which stretches over 620 miles (1,000 kilometers).
Given its massive size and the comparatively small number of Ukrainian forces involved in the operation, even if Russia committed reserves to stabilize the new front, it probably wouldn’t have much of an effect in the long run.
Nonetheless, the operation can raise Ukrainian spirits at a time when Moscow is anticipated to continue attacking Kyiv’s soldiers in the upcoming weeks.
Numerous Ukrainian brigades positioned along the border expressed their inability to provide a statement. The General Staff and Defense Ministry of Ukraine declared they would not comment.
Prior cross-border raids have been quickly repulsed by Russian soldiers, but not before they inflicted damage and embarrassed officials.
Two shadowy organizations, the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion, who are composed of Russian citizens and have fought alongside Ukrainian forces, have taken credit for prior incursions into Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk districts.
According to a few Russian war bloggers who have shown them to be informed about the conflict, there were Ukrainian forces in Kursk.
Laptops 1000According to Rybar, a Telegram channel managed by veteran Russian Defense Ministry communications officer Mikhail Zvinchuk, Ukrainian troops have taken control of three settlements in the area and are still fighting their way farther in.
Furthermore, it stated that the Sudzha gas transit station, located roughly 8 kilometers (5 miles) from the border, was taken over by Ukrainian forces.
The gains have not been confirmed by Russian officials.
Ukrainian troops allegedly moved up to 15 kilometers (9 miles) into the area, according to Two Majors, another pro-Kremlin military site.
No independent verification was possible for each assertion.
Because of the border length between the Kursk area and Ukraine (245 kilometers; 150 miles), sabotage parties can move quickly to occupy territory before Russian reinforcements arrive.
