Fighting in Russia intensified for a third day on Tuesday as 1,000 Ukrainian troops crossed the border into the Kursk region in the biggest surprise attack on Russia since the war began more than two years ago.
Moscow declared a state of emergency in the Kursk region, about 175 miles northeast of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, after Ukrainian forces breached at least two lines of defense, according to open-source reporting compiled by the Institute for the Study of War.
Footage released by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry on Thursday showed dozens of Russian soldiers surrendering to Ukrainian forces, while reports by pro-Russian bloggers suggested Ukrainian forces were continuing to advance north in the Kursk region.
Details of Ukraine’s operational objectives remain unclear due to Kiev’s policy of total silence.
A satellite image shows the area near the Suzha border crossing in Oleshnya, Kursk Oblast, on August 6, 2024. (Planet Labs Inc/Distributed via Reuters)
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But Mykhailo Podoljak, a top adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his first statement since the cross-border incursion into Russia, revealed the motive behind the incursion.
“The root cause of all the escalation, shelling, military action, forced evacuations and destruction of normal life, including within our borders, is [the Russian Federation’s] “Russia’s attacks on its territories, such as those in Kursk and Belgorod Oblast, are nothing less than clear acts of Russian aggression,” he said in the letter. “Russia has consistently believed that restrictive legal norms do not apply to it.”
“But war is war, and war has its own rules, and the aggressor will inevitably reap the consequences accordingly,” he added.
According to open-source reports by Russian bloggers, Ukrainian forces have reportedly suffered heavy losses but have managed to seize key military checkpoints and the Suzyagas distribution station (ensuring the continuous transshipment of natural gas from Russia to Europe) and continue to expand their attacks across the region.
Images and reports have confirmed the evacuation of Russian civilians from the Kursk region, but the exact number is unclear, with some reports putting the number of civilians fleeing the fighting at between 3,000 and 10,000.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reportedly called the attack a “serious provocation” after meeting with senior security officials on Wednesday, but Moscow has not acknowledged the takeover of the Suzha distribution center.
President Vladimir Putin met with Russian defense officials outside Moscow on August 7, 2024, to discuss the invasion of Ukraine. (Sputnik/Gabriel Grigorov/Pool via Reuters)
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Russian military chief of staff Gen. Valery Gerasimov reportedly told Putin and other senior officials at the meeting that Russian forces had halted an advance into Ukraine.
But information from the ground continues to contradict the Kremlin’s comments, with pro-Russian military blogger Yuri Podolyaca saying: “Suzha is basically lost for us. It is an important logistical base.” France 24 reports“Despite a noticeable slowdown in the pace of Ukraine’s offensive, the situation overall remains difficult and continues to deteriorate.”
Pro-Russian bloggers also say Ukrainian forces are continuing to advance north towards the Russian town of Lgov, just 20 miles from the Kursk nuclear plant.
Some reports have suggested Ukraine may be targeting the plant, but it is unclear how Kyiv plans to hold onto it or any territory it may gain.
Russian troops near the border in Ukraine’s Sumy region on May 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Evgeny Maloretka, File)
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It is unclear what losses Ukrainian forces have suffered in Russia.
Zelenskiy did not comment on the Russian operation in an evening address to the nation on Wednesday, saying he had instead spoken to commander Oleksandr Shirsky and that “more details will be announced later.”
Asked about details of Ukraine’s operations in Russia, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said he would let Kiev speak about military deals.
But he added that there was “no change in our policy of enabling or encouraging attacks or aggression on Russian soil.”
The Biden administration has partially backed away from its opposition to Ukraine using U.S.-supplied weapons to attack strategic targets in Russia, so long as they “target imminent threats across the country’s borders.”
