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Ukrainian forces have advanced up to 15 miles into Russia’s Kursk region, the UK ministry of defence (MoD), as they continue to take advantage of Moscow’s “disarray and disorganisation”.
In an update on X, formerly Twitter, the British MoD said Russia’s defensive lines in Kursk were “not prepared to respond to a multi-battalion assault force.
“Ukrainian forces have penetrated Russia’s Kursk region to a depth ranging between 10 and 25 km (six and 15 miles) over a frontage of approximately 40 km,” they wrote.
“Although Russia had established defensive lines and had border fences in the area, these were not prepared to respond to a multi-battalion assault force.”
Using British tanks, Ukraine has taken hundreds of square miles of Russia’s Kursk region since launching their audacious incursion on 6 August.
In a bid to slow down the attack, Russia is believed to have transferred “several thousand” troops from the frontline in northeast Ukraine, according to US officials.
The MoD added in its update that Moscow has also started “constructing additional defensive positions” to further halt the Ukrainian attack.
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Zelensky confirms more weapons for Ukraine as Kyiv strikes Putin’s airfields
Zelensky confirms more weapons for Ukraine as Kyiv strikes Putin’s airfields
Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed more weapons for Ukrainian forces as Kyiv continues its strikes into Putin’s airfields. The Ukraine President confirmed he met with government officials on Wednesday (14 August), to discuss support for military actions in the Kursk region. In a video message posted to X, formerly Twitter, Zelensky said: “Our Ukrainian drones are working exactly as needed. However, there are things that drones alone cannot achieve, unfortunately. We need other weapons—missile systems.” The president then confirmed more weapons will become available for troops.
Tom Watling17 August 2024 00:00
Military expert: Kyiv aiming to maximise Kursk offensive while Russia does same in Ukraine’s east
Analysts have said that distracting Russian forces from the east was one of the aims of Ukraine‘s Kursk operation. But so far there was no indication of letup in the east.
Russian forces were 10 kilometres from the outskirts of Pokrovsk and about 6 kilometres from nearby Myrnohrad, according to local officials.
“If the objective was to divert the Russian effort from the Donbas, it’s failed so far,” said Yohann Michel, a French military expert and research fellow at the IESD Institute in Lyon, France.
He said Kyiv was aiming to maximise the effect of the Kursk offensive while Russia was trying to do the same in Ukraine‘s east.
“It’s probably the first one who will blink who will have to stop his own offensive,” he said.
Zelenskiy said Ukraine was “not for a second” forgetting about the east and promised fresh weapons deliveries – over what was planned – to strengthen the positions.
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Kremlin accuses the West of helping Ukraine attack Russia
An influential aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that the West and the US-led NATO alliance had helped to plan Ukraine’s surprise attack on Russia’s Kursk region, something Washington has denied.
The lightning incursion, the biggest into Russia by a foreign power since World War Two, began on 6 August when thousands of Ukrainian troops crossed Russia’s western border in a major embarrassment for Putin’s military.
Ukraine said the incursion was needed to force Russia, which sent its forces into Ukraine in February 2022, to start “fair” peace talks.
But the United States and Western powers, eager to avoid direct military confrontation with Russia, said Ukraine had not given advance notice and that Washington was not involved, though weaponry provided by Britain and the U.S. is reported to have been used on Russian soil.
Influential veteran Kremlin hawk Nikolai Patrushev dismissed the Western assertions in an interview with the Izvestia newspaper.
“The operation in the Kursk region was also planned with the participation of NATO and Western special services,” he was quoted as saying, without offering evidence.
“Without their participation and direct support, Kyiv would not have ventured into Russian territory.”
The remarks implied that Ukraine’s first acknowledged foray into sovereign Russian territory carried a high risk of escalation.
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