Zelensky announces that his forces have taken control of the city of Sudzha, in the Russian territory of Kursk, where the incursion of Ukrainian troops has forced evacuations in the bordering region of Glushkovo. kyiv and Moscow offer conflicting accounts of the scope of the raid.
The Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenskisaid this Thursday that the country’s troops have the full control of the town of Sudzhain the region of Kursk, in his incursion into Russian territory.
The town, the largest Ukraine has taken so farhad a pre-war population of around 5,000 people. has a natural gas metering station Russian gas flowing through Ukrainian gas pipelines to Europe.
Natural gas flows from West Siberian gas fields through pipes passing through Sudzha and cross the Ukrainian border into the Ukrainian system. Zelensky said an office of the Ukrainian military commander is being established in Sudzha, although he did not give further details or the functions of the office.
The claim could not be independently verified. Russia did not immediately respond to Zelensky’s statement, but its Defense Ministry said earlier Thursday that Russian forces had blocked attempts to take several other communities. There was no indication of gas flow interruption through Sudzha, which represents approximately 3% of Europe’s imports.
Damage caused by Ukrainian drones in Russian air bases
Satellite images analyzed by the AP agency this Thursday show that a attack con Ukrainian drones to Russian air basesdamaged at least two hangars and other areas. Images taken on Wednesday by Planet Labs PBC show that two hangars at the Borisoglebsk air base were hit, with a debris field around both. It is not clear what the hangars were for. There also appeared to be potential damage to two fighter jets at the base.
On the other hand, in the Savasleika air basea burn mark could be seen on the apron in footage from Wednesday, although there was no apparent damage to the fighter jets and other aircraft there.
New evacuations of civilians in Kursk
The interim governor of Kursk, Alexei Smirnov, ordered evacuations in the Kursk region this Thursday. Glushkovoto some 45 kilometers northwest of Sudzhawhile the bold Ukraine’s incursion into the bordering Kursk region entered its second week.
The evacuation order suggests that Ukrainian forces are gradually advancing into the area. Authorities say more than 120,000 residents of the Kursk region have already been evacuated.
Clash of stories between Ukraine and Russia
The military chief of UkraineGeneral Oleksandr Syrskyi, declared that Ukrainian forces have taken 1,000 square kilometers from the region of Kursk. Your statement could not be independently verified. The lines of contact in Kursk have remained fluid, allowing both sides to maneuver easily, unlike the static frontline in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have taken months to make even incremental gains.
Los russian military bloggers They have claimed that Russian reserves arriving in the region have stopped Ukrainian advances, but they also noted that small Ukrainian groups have continued to probe Russian defenses.
Speaking to reporters at the UN on Wednesday, the deputy ambassador of Russia Before the UN, Dmitry Polyansky dismissed Syrskyi’s claim to have gained 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory. “What is happening in Kursk is the incursion of terrorist sabotage groupshence there is no front line as such“Polyansky said. “There is an incursion because there are forests that are very difficult to control.”
Polyansky also said that Ukrainian troops in the forests will be identified and eliminated in “a very short period of time,” calling the Ukrainian incursion a “absolutely reckless and insane operation“.
The Russian diplomat at the UN also added that the Ukraine’s alleged goal of forcing Russia to withdraw its troops from eastern Ukraine is not being carried out because “we have enough troops there.”
