Ukrainian army chief says forces claim gains, ‘strengthening positions’ in Russia’s Kursk region

Nevin Al Sukari - Sana'a - This photograph taken on 16 August, 2024, during a media tour organised by Ukraine, shows a destroyed Russian tank outside Ukrainian-controlled Russian town of Sudzha, Kursk region, amid the Russian invasion in Ukraine. — AFP pic

KYIV, Aug 17 — Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said yesterday that Kyiv’s forces were advancing between one and three kilometres in some areas in the Kursk region, 11 days since beginning an incursion into Russia.

Kyiv has claimed to have taken control of 82 settlements over an area of 1,150 square kilometres in the region since August 6. Ukraine’s foreign ministry put the figure as exceeding what Russia has advanced in Ukraine this year.

Briefing President Volodymyr Zelenskiy via video link, Syrskyi reported fighting in the area of Malaya Loknya, about 11.5 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. He said he hoped the fighting there would allow the Kyiv military to capture “many prisoners”.

“The Kursk region operation — we are strengthening our positions and replenishing ‘exchange fund’ for Ukraine,” Zelenskiy said on X after Syrskyi’s report.

Kyiv officials said that at least hundreds of Russian troops had been taken prisoners, expressing hope it would speed up the swapping of Ukrainian fighters held in Russian captivity.

Russia has called the incursion a “major provocation” and vowed to retaliate with a “worthy response,” more than 2-1/2 years since it launched a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour.

Russia’s Defence Ministry said yesterday its troops repelled Ukrainian attacks in several areas, including near the villages of Gordeevka, Russkoe Porechnoe and others.

Zelenskiy hailed Russia’s losses in the Kursk region as “very helpful” for Ukraine’s defence.

“It concerns the destruction of the Russian army logistics and the draining of their reserves,” he said in an evening address.

Kyiv Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk added on Telegram that aviation was an active part of the operation, targeting the enemy’s supply routes and logistics centres. He posted a video of a strike on a bridge.

Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov said Ukraine had destroyed a road bridge over the Seym river in the region’s Glushkovsky district.

Security guards stand nearby a centre for displaced people and humanitarian aid distribution in Kursk on August 16, 2024, following Ukraine's offensive into Russia's western Kursk region. — AFP pic

Objective in the east

The heaviest fighting, though, was ongoing in Ukraine’s east where Russian troops for months have been inching towards the strategic hub of Pokrovsk.

Analysts 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. — Reuters