Ukraine says its forces control 1,000 square kilometres of Russian territory – National
Ukraine’s prime navy commander says his forces now control 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of Russia’s neighboring Kursk area, the primary time a Ukrainian navy official has publicly commented on the good points of the lightning incursion that has embarrassed the Kremlin.
Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi made the assertion in a video posted Monday to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Telegram channel and different social media platforms. Within the video, he briefed the president on the entrance-line scenario.
“The troops are fulfilling their tasks. Fighting continues actually along the entire front line. The situation is under our control,” Syrskyi mentioned.
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Putin vows response to Ukraine’s shock incursion of western Russian area of Kursk
Russian forces are nonetheless scrambling to reply to the shock Ukrainian assault after nearly per week of fierce combating.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin mentioned the incursion, which has brought about greater than 100,000 civilians to flee, is an try by Kyiv to cease Moscow’s offensive in jap Ukraine’s Donbas area and acquire leverage in potential future peace talks.
Zelenskyy confirmed for the primary time that the Ukrainian navy is working contained in the Kursk area. On Telegram, he praised his nation’s troopers and commanders “for their steadfastness and decisive actions.” He didn’t elaborate.
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Russia-Ukraine: Kursk residents evacuate beneath Ukrainian cross-border assault
Talking Monday at a gathering with prime safety and protection officers, Putin mentioned the assault that started Aug. 6 appeared to mirror Kyiv’s try to realize a greater negotiating place in potential future talks to finish the battle. He insisted Moscow’s military would prevail.
Putin mentioned Ukraine might have hoped that the assault would trigger public unrest in Russia, however that it has failed to realize that aim, and he claimed that the quantity of volunteers to hitch the Russian navy has elevated as a result of of the assault. He mentioned Russian forces will keep on with their offensive in jap Ukraine regardless.
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“It’s obvious that the enemy will keep trying to destabilize the situation in the border zone to try to destabilize the domestic political situation in our country,” Putin mentioned. Russia’s principal job is “to squeeze out, drive the enemy out of our territories and, together with the border service, to ensure reliable cover of the state border.”
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Appearing Kursk Gov. Alexei Smirnov reported to Putin that Ukrainian forces had pushed 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) into the Kursk area throughout a 40-kilometer (25-mile) entrance and presently control 28 Russian settlements.
The map above exhibits the place Ukrainian navy forces are working inside Russia’s Kursk area as of Aug. 11, 2024. (AP Digital Embed).
Smirnov mentioned 12 civilians have been killed and 121 others, together with 10 kids, have been wounded within the operation. About 121,000 individuals have been evacuated or left the areas affected by combating on their very own, he mentioned.
Monitoring down all of the Ukrainian items which might be roaming the area and creating diversions is troublesome, Smirnov mentioned, noting that some are utilizing pretend Russian IDs.
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The governor of the Belgorod area adjoining to Kursk additionally introduced the evacuation of individuals from a district close to the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian forces swiftly rolled into the city of Sudzha about 10 kilometers (6 miles) over the border after launching the assault. They reportedly nonetheless maintain the western half of the city, which is the positioning of an essential pure gasoline station.
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Russia-Ukraine: Zelenskyy confirms Ukrainian troops pushing into Russian territory
The Ukrainian operation is beneath tight secrecy, and its targets stay unclear. The gorgeous maneuver that caught the Kremlin’s forces off guard counters Russia’s unrelenting effort in current months to punch by means of Ukrainian defenses at chosen factors alongside the entrance line in jap Ukraine.
Zelenskyy mentioned the the territory now managed by Ukrainian forces was used to strike Ukraine’s Sumy area many instances, including that it’s “absolutely fair to destroy Russian terrorists where they are.”
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“Russia brought war to others. Now it is coming home,” he mentioned in a video posted on his Telegram channel.
Russia has seen earlier incursions into its territory throughout the practically 2 1/2-12 months battle, however the foray into the Kursk area marked the most important assault on its soil since World Warfare II, constituting a milestone within the hostilities. Additionally it is the primary time the Ukrainian military has spearheaded an incursion relatively than pro-Ukraine Russian fighters.
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The advance delivered a blow to Putin’s efforts to fake that life in Russia has been largely unaffected by the battle. State propaganda tried to minimize the assault, emphasizing the authorities’ efforts to assist residents of the area and searching for to distract consideration from the navy’s failure to organize for the assault and shortly repel it.
Kursk residents recorded movies lamenting they needed to flee the border space, forsaking their belongings, and pleading with Putin for assist. However Russia’s state-managed media saved a decent lid on any expression of discontent.
1:23
Russian missile strikes grocery store in Ukraine, killing at the least 10: officers
Retired Gen. Andrei Gurulev, a member of the decrease home of the Russian parliament, criticized the navy for failing to correctly shield the border.
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“Regrettably, the group of forces protecting the border didn’t have its own intelligence assets,” he mentioned on his messaging app channel. “No one likes to see the truth in reports, everybody just wants to hear that all is good.”
The fight inside Russia rekindled questions on whether or not Ukraine was utilizing weaponry provided by NATO members. Some Western nations have balked at permitting Ukraine to make use of their navy help to hit Russian soil, fearing it could gas an escalation which may drag Russia and NATO into battle.
Although it’s not clear what weapons Ukraine is utilizing throughout the border, Russian media extensively reported that American Bradley and German Marder armored infantry automobiles have been there. The declare couldn’t be independently verified.
Ukraine has already used U.S. weapons to strike inside Russia.
1:42
Ukraine defence programs destroy dozens of Russian drones launched over Kyiv
Italian Overseas Minister Antonio Tajani mentioned in an interview revealed Monday that the weapons supplied by his nation “cannot be used to attack Russia on its territory.”
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In the meantime, German Protection Ministry spokesperson Arne Collatz mentioned Monday that authorized specialists agree that “international law provides for a state that is defending itself also to defend itself on the territory of the attacker. That is clear from our point of view, too.”
Russia’s Protection Ministry mentioned Monday that reinforcements despatched to the world backed by air forces and artillery had fended off seven assaults by Ukrainian items close to Martynovka, Borki and Korenevo throughout the earlier 24 hours.
The ministry mentioned Russian forces additionally blocked an try by Ukrainian cell teams to forge deep into Russian territory close to Kauchuk.
Pasi Paroinen, an analyst with the Finland-primarily based Black Chook Group open-supply intelligence company, which screens the battle, mentioned the hardest section of Ukraine’s incursion is more likely to start now as Russian reserves enter the fray.