International
Ukraine Presses Onward into Russia
Ukraine has confirmed that its forces are making steady progress into Russian territory.
Recall the Kursk region on Russia’s western border faced a surprise attack, prompting Russian authorities to declare a state of emergency.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, troops have advanced about 2 kilometres further into Kursk since Wednesday morning, capturing 100 Russian soldiers.
However, Russia asserts that it has successfully halted any additional advances. This marks Ukraine’s deepest incursion into Russia since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
The exact amount of Russian territory under Ukrainian control is unclear, with both sides providing conflicting accounts.
Major General Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Chechen Akhmat special forces unit, told viewers on Russia’s state-controlled Channel One that Russian forces had nearly “completely blocked” the Ukrainian military from progressing.
In contrast, during a video link with President Zelensky, Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi claimed that Ukrainian troops now fully control the Kursk border town of Sudzha.
While the report has not independently verified this claim, a Ukrainian television report filmed inside the town shows Ukrainian soldiers removing a Russian flag from a school.
Amid Kyiv’s claims of territorial gains, Ukrainian foreign ministry spokesman Heorhiy Tykhy emphasized that Ukraine is not seeking to “take over” Russian territory. “The sooner Russia agrees to restore a just peace… the sooner the raids by the Ukrainian defence forces into Russia will stop,” he told reporters.
Earlier, Mr. Zelensky mentioned the possibility of establishing “military commandants’ offices” in the region.
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On Wednesday, Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced plans for a “security zone” in Kursk to protect Ukraine’s borders.
In a Telegram post, she stated that Ukraine would organize humanitarian aid for Russian civilians within the security zone and establish evacuation corridors for both Russia and Ukraine.
Yan Furtsev, a local official with Russia’s liberal opposition party, Yabloko, described the situation in the Kursk region as “tense.”
“Citizens that are leaving their homes are in a very difficult psychological situation,” he told BBC Radio 4’s The World Tonight, noting that they were experiencing significant “stress and sadness.”
Furtsev estimated that about 180,000 civilians needed to be evacuated, with 121,000 already having left, all in need of necessities such as food and clothing.
Russia has also declared a second state of emergency in the neighbouring Belgorod region, where drone attacks and shelling have caused damage to homes.
Moscow reported that it shot down 117 drones overnight, targeting four regions: Kursk, Voronezh, Belgorod, and Nizhny Novgorod.
Long-range drones were also aimed at Russian airfields in Voronezh and Kursk, as well as Savasleyka and Borisoglebsk, according to Ukraine’s security services, which described it as a “fun” night in a specially planned operation.
In his first remarks on the operation, US President Joe Biden stated that the offensive was “creating a real dilemma for Putin.”
Meanwhile, various European allies have expressed their support for Ukraine. The prime ministers of Finland and Estonia backed Ukraine’s military action in Kursk, while Latvia’s foreign minister went further, declaring that Kyiv “has the right” to use NATO weapons on Russian territory.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had previously warned that this would cross a “red line.” Last week, Germany’s foreign ministry affirmed that Ukraine is entitled to self-defence, which “is not limited to its territory.”
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