For the residents of Russia’s Kursk Oblast, the war is hitting home in a way few envisioned as a surprise mechanized Ukrainian incursion there stretches into its second day. Hundreds of Ukrainian troops and dozens of vehicles including tanks and other armor are said to have poured over the border, creating a pocket upwards of nearly 10 miles deep at some points.
“We are losing everything dear that remains in our city and our beloved city itself,” complained one denizen of Sudzha, a community about seven miles from the Ukrainian border that has suffered heavy damage during the fighting. “Everyone is in a lousy state, to put it mildly.”
Knowing exactly what is going on is difficult.
”I can confirm that we are aware of the recent movement by the [Ukrainian Armed Forces] into the region,” a Pentagon spokesman told The War Zone Wednesday morning. “The U.S. was not consulted about this movement.”
The fighting was still ongoing as of this morning, said the spokesperson, deferring any further updates to Ukraine.
The Russian Defense Ministry (MoD), which just last night claimed they repulsed the incursion, said on Wednesday that “the operation to neutralize the [Armed Forces of Ukraine] AFU units is in progress.” The MoD proffered that Ukrainian forces have paid dearly in the operation, ticking off a laundry list of hundreds of casualties and scores of equipment losses it is impossible to verify at this point. The MoD also said that Russian forces responded by striking several rallying points inside Ukraine.
In Moscow, about 320 miles to the northeast of the fighting, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a short speech decrying the incursion that his troops are still battling to contain.
It is, he said, “another massive provocation, with indiscriminate shelling from various weapons, including missiles of civilian buildings, residential houses and ambulances.”
Gen. Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the Russian General Staff, told Putin that his troops “were continuing to destroy the enemy” and that this operation would end in defeat for Ukraine. Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry called on the world community to “condemn the criminal actions of the Kyiv regime.”
Some prominent Russian Telegram channels are less optimistic and have raised alarms about this new offensive.
“The situation in the southern regions of Kursk Oblast continues to deteriorate,” the Colonelcassad Telegram channel wrote. “There is a real possibility of losing Sudzha, reports of stabilization of the situation, to put it mildly, embellish the reality.”
“Throughout the night and morning, Ukrainian formations attempted to expand the part of Kursk Oblast under their control,” the Russian Turned On Z War Telegram channel wrote. “According to the latest information, since the beginning of the offensive, Ukrainian Armed Forces units have occupied several settlements in the region.”
“In the northwestern sector, the enemy reached the outskirts of Leonidovka along the Rylsk – Sudzha highway, in the area of which Ukrainian formations came under fire from Russian troops and suffered losses in manpower and equipment,” Turned On Z War claimed. “At the same time, units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces advanced from the Nikolayevo – Daryino – Daryino – Nizhniy Klin line to a depth of more than three kilometers, establishing control over Obukhovskaya , Pokrovsky , Tolstoy Lug and Lyubimovka.
In Sudzha, Ukrainian troops “captured the Sudzha gas metering station, through which gas is transited to Europe through the territory of the so-called Ukraine,” Turned On Z War stated.
Sudzha “is the last operational trans-shipping point for Russian gas exports to Europe via Ukraine, according to Reuters. “Just 60 km [about 37 miles] away to the northeast is Russia’s Kursk nuclear power station.”
Russia is reportedly using its aviation to halt the advance there.
“The Kursk region became a kind of slap in the face for those who forgot that they must always keep in mind the possible aggression of the enemy, no matter what,” wrote the Two Majors Telegram channel. “Against the backdrop of all the languid but difficult for our soldiers advances along the front line, we pretended that we had everything under control in other areas, where the concentration of our efforts, namely, not only experienced fighters, but also reserves with cover, is an insignificant matter.”
Amid the ongoing fighting and attacks by ground forces, drones and missiles, a large number of residents have been forced to flee.
“The enemy continues to strike throughout the border area of the Kursk region,” according to the Russian War Gonzo Telegram channel. “More than 200 people were evacuated from the shelled areas, another 1,000 people left in personal transport. There are currently more than 300 people in temporary accommodation areas, more than 100 of whom are children.
Acting Kursk Gov. Alexei Smirnov said on Telegram that “the situation in the region is under control. We have organized the evacuation of residents from the shelled border areas, prepared temporary accommodation points and provided them with everything they need, psychologists are working. Doctors from Moscow and St. Petersburg have left for the region, the federal center is allocating additional funds and other assistance to the Kursk region.”
In addition, he said Putin has taken personal control of the situation.
“At night, I reported the operational situation to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief by phone. Vladimir Vladimirovich [Putin] is keeping the situation under personal control. The President emphasized that support will be provided to our region in all areas. I thank everyone for helping the Kursk region!”
One resident, however, complained that Russian troops quickly fled the town as Ukrainian troops approached. He called the governor’s assertion that things were under control “utter fuckery.”
Ukrainian political and military leaders have yet to comment about the fighting, though one official, as we noted yesterday, acknowledged it was taking place.
“Russian soldiers are lying about the controllability of the situation in the Kursk region,” Andrii Kovalenko, the head of an anti-disinformation department at Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council said Tuesday on Telegram. “Russia does not control the border.”
Meanwhile, more video has emerged of Ukrainian troops taking large numbers of prisoners.
As the fighting rages, the question about why is raised.
With Ukraine suffering losses on the front lines and trying to defend against a burgeoning Russian advance in Donetsk Oblast, committing so many troops and so much equipment is curious. Forcing Russia to rebalance its forces away from the front lines, to the border, in a continuous manner is one possible objective, as is the psychological impact of Russian territory being seized by Ukrainian forces.
Whatever the reason, this incursion, as we previously noted, is far larger than prior attempts by Ukrainian-aligned forces to fight inside Russia.
As the Pentagon told us, it directly involves the Armed Forces of Ukraine. That’s a change from previous thrusts into Russian territory that were largely claimed by pro-Ukrainian Russian partisans, although it is highly debatable if that was truly the case. One notable attack was launched into Kursk by a supposed Ukrainian-backed armed Russian partisan groups back in March. Other previous incursions took place in Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk regions.
How long this lasts, at what cost, and to what end is of course unknown at this point. However, it has sent shockwaves across Russia regardless of how it turns out and has certainly turned the tables on Moscow when it comes to the practice of crossing borders to seize another country’s territory.
Update: 4:42 PM Eastern –
Acting Kursk Gov. Alexi Smirnov declared a state of emergency over the Ukrainian incursion into his region:
“The operational situation in the border areas of the Kursk region remains complicated. In order to eliminate the consequences of enemy forces entering the region, I have decided to introduce a state of emergency in the Kursk region from August 7.
Until the operational situation improves, I will personally coordinate the work of the forces of the unified state system for the prevention and elimination of emergency situations.
I would like to remind you that the operational headquarters under my leadership is working around the clock. I am keeping the situation under my personal control. I am constantly in touch with law enforcement agencies and the federal center. All necessary measures are being taken to ensure the safety of Kursk residents.”
Smirnov also announced that Russian war correspondent Evgeny Poddubny was not killed as some have reported.
“Evgeny Poddubny is alive! He regained consciousness and is receiving all the necessary treatment in one of the Kursk hospitals. We pray for his health!”
According to Russian media, Puddubny was injured when his car was hit by a Ukrainian FPV drone while covering the Kursk incursion.
“Up to 4,000 soldiers from the Belgorod region have already arrived in the Kursk region, and, according to rumors, one of the brigades from near Volchansk, as well as up to 2,200 people withdrawn from the fronts in Ukraine,” according to the Russian Volya Telegram channel. “The Ukrainian Armed Forces suffer their main losses from strikes by Russian aircraft and helicopters, and from artillery.”
While The War Zone cannot independently verify those figures, we noted earlier that one of the objectives of this push could be to draw Russian troops from Ukraine.
A video emerged on social media purporting to show a column of Ukrainian vehicles destroyed by the Russians. Notable among the wreckage is a U.S.-donated Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Of the more than 300 provided, at least 45 have been destroyed, 24 damaged, 23 damaged and abandoned and four captured, according to the Oryx open-source tracking group. Those figures could be higher because Oryx only tabulates losses it can confirm visually.
Ukrainian troops are reportedly working to retrieve some of the vehicles damaged during the assault, a logistics effort apparently unhampered by Russian drones or artillery.
Still, Ukrainian troops have taken a beating during their Kursk effort. Video emerged claiming to show Ukrainian troops being carpet-bombed by Russian aviation.
As we noted earlier, Ukraine now controls the Sudzha gas metering station in Kursk, where nearly half of Russian gas important to the European Union flow. It is the last remaining Russian gas pipeline supplying the European market.
The pro-Russian forces of Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov are reportedly involved in the Kursk fight. They are known as “TikTok” troops for their antics posted on social media.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com