“BREAK THROUGH THE BORDER”
Ukrainian forces have been pushing their offensive in Kursk, a surprise operation that has seen Kyiv gain swathes of territory in three weeks.
The governor of Russia’s Belgorod region, which borders Kursk and Ukraine, said Tuesday he was aware of reports that the Ukrainian army had tried to cross the border.
“Information has emerged that the enemy is trying to break through the border of the Belgorod region,” its governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
“According to the Russian defence ministry, the situation on the border remains difficult but under control,” he said on social media.
Zelenskyy said late Monday that Ukraine’s cross-border incursion launched on Aug 6 was partially to “compensate” for Kyiv’s inability to strike deeper into Russian territory.
He has been appealing to Ukraine’s allies to allow his forces to use Western-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russian territory as part of efforts to thwart more aerial bombardments.
Ukraine’s army chief Oleksandr Syrsky said his forces had made fresh gains in Kursk recently and now controlled 100 towns and villages across 1,294 sq km.
He also claimed that Russian forces had redeployed some 30,000 troops to help fend off the Kursk incursion, and said Ukraine had taken 594 POWs in the weeks of the incursion – the first time Kyiv has offered a precise figure.
Moscow has nonetheless been making steady gains in Ukraine and said Tuesday that its forces had captured the village of Orlivka near the strategic railway hub of Pokrovsk.
Zelensky had said late Monday that defending Pokrovsk was “difficult” and that Ukraine was strengthening its positions there as Russian forces advance.
This week, AFP journalists saw civilians evacuating by train from Pokrovsk, once home to around 60,000 people, with panicked residents carrying their belongings in bags and pets with them.
Source: CNA
