The French newspaper Le Figaro said that the Ukrainians' surprise attack in the Kursk region last week, Aug. 7, is the first direct attack on Russia since World War II. Other media outlets even sensationalized it saying, for the first time since the war, the Eurasian nation is "under occupation."
According to the reports, Ukrainian forces seized at least three localities in the region in the initial assault. Top Ukrainian military commander Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi also claimed that Kyiv now controls 1,000 square kilometers (about 390 square miles) of Russian land and that they would push further in what they claim to be their "largest cross-border attack" since the Ukraine-Russia conflict started.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also confirmed that the Ukrainian military is already operating inside Kursk.
Kursk Oblast Acting Gov. Alexei Smirnov said Ukraine is now controlling 28 settlements and that 121,000 people have already left or been evacuated while another 59,000 were in the process of being evacuated.
Meanwhile, in the neighboring Belgorod Oblast to the south, Gov. Vyacheslav Gladkov said that evacuations had also begun from the Krasnaya Yaruga District on Monday, Aug. 12, due to "enemy activity on the border."
Analysts note that Ukraine's invasion of Kursk may be the culmination of months of work as a means to divert Russian forces from its successful incursions into the nearby Kharkiv Oblast in recent months. While Russian forces were not successful in penetrating deep into Ukrainian territory, the new frontline added further strain to the already stretched resources of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Le Figaro suggested that the operation in Kursk could be an attempt to force Russians to redeploy their troops to this region to relieve defenses on other fronts and possibly allow Ukrainians to recapture territories occupied by Russia.
"The idea [behind this attack] is to show that Ukrainians are still brave, formidable and not merely retreating," said an anonymous representative of the French military, who added that the Kursk Oblast is poorly defended compared to areas around Ukraine-claimed Donetsk.
Zelensky said Russia had to be "forced to make peace" if Russian President Vladimir Putin "wanted to fight so badly." In response, Putin said the incursion was an attempt by Kyiv to stop Moscow's offensive in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region and gain leverage in possible future peace talks. He said that Russia's main task was "to knock out the enemy from our territories." He warned: "The enemy will certainly receive a worthy response."
For experts, capturing Kursk could also be a bargaining chip for Ukraine, especially since a possible victory of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in the upcoming elections in the United States might force Kyiv to enter peace negotiations. (Related: Maria Zakharova warns: Ukraine is spreading TERRORISM worldwide.)
Russia strikes back at Ukrainian troops in Kursk, causing major damage and a halt to Kyiv's offensive
Russian forces struck back with missiles, drones and airstrikes to stop Ukraine's continued offensive deep into Russian territory.
Putin's defense ministry published images of the Russian twin-engine, twin-seat supersonic medium-range fighter-strike aircraft Sukhoi Su-34 firing at Ukrainian troops in the Kursk border region. According to the ministry, it had repelled attacks at villages about 26 to 28 kilometers (16 to 17 miles) from the border.
"The uncontrolled ride of the enemy has already been halted," Maj. Gen. Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the Chechen Akhmat special forces unit, told Reuters. "The enemy is already aware that the blitzkrieg that it planned did not work out."
Russian forces had destroyed 35 Ukrainian tanks, 31 armored personnel carriers, 18 infantry fighting vehicles and 179 other armored vehicles during the week-long battle, it said.
Meanwhile, it was not clear which side was in control of the Russian town of Sudzha, through which Russia delivers gas from Western Siberia through Ukraine and on to Slovakia and other European Union countries. Gazprom said it was still pumping gas to Ukraine through Sudzha.
Head over to RussiaReport.news for updates on the current Ukrainian incursion on Russian territories.
Watch the video below that talks about Russian drones reacting very strongly to Kyiv's attack in Kursk.
This video is from the Prisoner channel on Brighteon.com.
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