Russian forces continued to face a major incursion by Ukrainian troops in the Kursk border region on Thursday, an unexpected setback for Russia, whose military had been in an advantage position on the front lines.
For the Ukrainian presidency, this surprise offensive, launched on Tuesday, is a consequence of Russian “aggression” in Ukraine for almost two and a half years, at the cost of tens of thousands of deaths and massive destruction.
“War is war, with its own rules, the aggressor inevitably pays the corresponding consequences,” Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential administration, said on X on Thursday.
However, he did not clearly attribute this operation to kyiv, as the Ukrainian authorities have been observing almost total silence on the subject since Tuesday.
The day before, on Ukrainian television, Mr. Podoliak had judged that, in order to obtain something from Moscow at “the negotiating table”, the conflict should not follow “the scenario” established by the Russians.
Ukrainian troops have attacked Russian territory with up to 1,000 soldiers, tanks and armored vehicles, according to the Russian General Staff, which says it is doing everything to push them out of Russia.
“The operation to destroy the Ukrainian army formations continues,” the Russian Defense Ministry said on Thursday, assuring that it was preventing them from “penetrating deeply” into the region.
Gas station
While official Russian communication is intended to be reassuring – with regional authorities still referring on Thursday to a “stable and under control” situation – the picture painted by military experts is more alarming.
The US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) estimated in its latest report that the Ukrainians had advanced up to 10 kilometres deep and broken through “at least two Russian defence lines”.
According to several analysts, Ukrainian soldiers reached Sudja, a Russian town of about 5,500 inhabitants located about ten kilometers from the border and which houses a gas station still supplying Europe via Ukraine.
On Thursday, the Telegram channel Rybar, which is close to the Russian military, claimed that Sudja was “practically under the control” of Ukrainian forces and that the Russian army was no longer present except at a roundabout east of the city.
According to the source, the Ukrainians have also advanced towards the town of Korenevo, more than 25 kilometres from the border, and fighting is still ongoing in localities in this sector.
Rybar points out that, unlike previous incursions into Russia, claimed by paramilitary groups allied with kyiv, this one is being carried out entirely by the regular Ukrainian army.
Telegram channels of Ukrainian military observers have been circulating unverified drone footage showing what are said to be Russian soldiers surrendering.
The Russian military, which has not directly confirmed any Ukrainian advance, initially said on Tuesday that it had forced kyiv’s troops to “withdraw.”
Then, the next day, Vladimir Putin appeared visibly angry on Russian television, denouncing a “large-scale provocation” by Ukraine.
3000 people evacuated
Although the extent of the Ukrainian military’s advance is therefore unclear, the giant Gazprom assured on Thursday that it would continue to deliver its gas daily, as usual, via its station in Sudja.
It then passes through Ukraine, notably to Slovakia and Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban is well-disposed towards Vladimir Putin.
In addition, authorities in the Kursk region said on Thursday that they had been targeted by a computer attack that had made “numerous services” “temporarily unavailable.”
On Wednesday, they declared a state of emergency and said at least five civilians had died and 28 had been injured, including children. Around 3,000 people have already been evacuated, including 1,500 to temporary shelters, according to regional authorities.
In the neighboring Russian region of Belgorod, a man was killed and another person injured in a Ukrainian strike on Thursday, the governor said.
On the Ukrainian side, according to the authorities, at least five civilians died on Thursday in Russian bombings, including two in the region of Sumy which faces the Russian region of Kursk.
The Ukrainian incursion into Russia comes as the Russian army has been on the offensive for several months at various points on the front against Ukrainian troops, who are fewer in number and less well equipped, despite significant Western aid since February 2022.
The Russians are continuing their slow advance in the eastern region of Donetsk, where they could, according to observers, seize important cities if this trend continues. Ukraine, for its part, claims to be inflicting heavy losses on the attackers.
In mid-May, the Russian military also launched an offensive in the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, which was stopped in the city of Vovchansk by kyiv, which nevertheless had to send valuable resources there.