2 months ago
14
Ukraine’s offensive in Russia’s Kursk region intensifies as both Kyiv and Moscow claim victories. Ukraine claims to have seized over 1,100 square kilometers, including Sudzha, while Russia said it recaptured Krupets read more
 "Ukraine's Kursk offensive in Russia continues, Kyiv and Moscow make competing claims of success")
Ukraine claims to have captured nearly 1,100 square kilometres of land in Russia's Kursk. Image used for representational purpose/AP
Ukraine’s military offensive in Russia’s Kursk region intensified on Thursday (August 15), with both Kyiv and Moscow asserting conflicting victories as the largest foreign attack on Russian soil since World War II unfolds.
Ukraine claimed to have seized control of 1,150 square kilometers of territory, including the town of Sudzha, just eight kilometers from the Russian border.
Ukraine’s territorial gains
According to top military commander Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukrainian forces now control 82 settlements in the region. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the “completion of the liberation” of Sudzha, marking a significant milestone in Ukraine’s ongoing counteroffensive.
The Ukrainian offensive, launched on August 6, came after more than two years of enduring a Russian invasion that has devastated much of Ukraine’s eastern regions.
Ukrainian officials have described the campaign as an act of self-defense, with military experts suggesting that the move could be aimed at relieving pressure on the eastern front, particularly in the embattled Donbas region.
Ukraine’s offensive appears to have caught Russian forces off guard, leading to hurried defensive measures in the border regions.
How Russia responded
Meanwhile, Russia countered by announcing the recapture of the village of Krupets in the Kursk region. Moscow’s defence ministry claimed that Russian forces had “completed destruction of the enemy and restored control of the settlement.”
Additionally, Russia has reportedly begun deploying “additional forces” to the neighbouring Belgorod region to counter Ukrainian advances and secure its borders.
The human toll of the offensive
In Sumy, a regional hub near the border, emotional scenes played out as mourners gathered to honor six Ukrainian soldiers killed in the offensive. As a funeral mass was held in a local Orthodox church, air raid sirens echoed across the city. “It is hard to say goodbye to them because we want them to live forever, to live among us as honoured sons of their homeland,” the presiding priest told the gathered families and friends.
On the Russian side of the border, the human cost of the conflict is becoming increasingly visible. In Kursk, around 500 evacuees from the contested areas queued for food and clothing distributed by the Russian Red Cross.
According to Russian authorities, more than 120,000 people have been displaced by the fighting. “I was very scared, very scared. Shells were flying from all sides,” said Nina Golinyaeva, an evacuee from Sudzha, describing the chaotic scene before her evacuation.
The intensity of the fighting has led to civilian casualties on both sides. Russian authorities reported that at least 12 civilians have been killed and 121 wounded since the offensive began. Moscow has not updated the toll since Monday (August 12), as reinforcements continue to be dispatched to the front lines.
With inputs from AFP
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
English (US) ·