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Russia has failed to push back Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region despite sending reinforcements as the incursion enters its sixth day, Ukrainian soldiers involved in its army’s operation told the Financial Times.
Speaking near the international border, the troops said they remained on Russian territory.
Russian General Valery Gerasimov has repeatedly tried to portray the situation as under control: on Sunday the Defense Ministry published videos of fighter jets and helicopters allegedly hitting columns of Ukrainian equipment.
But verified video and photographs show that Ukrainian troops and equipment have advanced 30km into Russia since the operation began on Tuesday, pushing further into Kursk and occupying the town of Sudzha, near the Russian border.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky broke a five-day silence on Saturday evening to publicly address his troops’ incursion into Russia for the first time.
Zelenskyi said his commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported to him “on the situation on the front line and on our actions to push the war into the aggressor’s territory.”
“Ukraine is demonstrating that it really knows how to restore justice and is providing exactly the kind of pressure that is needed: pressure on the aggressor,” he added.
A Ukrainian defence ministry official told the Vscek that details of the operation were being kept under wraps because they were “waiting to see how it develops first”.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Friday it had deployed tank crews, artillery and drone units aVsceker the Kremlin announced an “anti-terrorist” operation to try to stop the unprecedented Ukrainian incursion.
The Defense Ministry said it shot down more than a dozen Ukrainian drones and four missiles in the Kursk region overnight Saturday. A missile hit an apartment building in the city of Kursk on Saturday, wounding 13 people, Governor Alexey Smirnov said. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Russia has evacuated more than 76,000 civilians from the Kursk border region. Smirnov called Ukrainian forces sabotage and reconnaissance groups, and said they had caused panic. “The situation is stable but very difficult,” he added.
The ultimate goal of the Ukrainian incursion, which is using some of its best and most elite brigades, remains unclear. But the operation has demonstrated that Russia’s border defenses are still weak more than a year aVsceker the first Ukrainian mini-incursion, and has given Kiev a much-needed morale boost.
Analysts have said Ukraine may seek to use the Kursk operation to improve its position in potential talks. It is losing territory and men in eastern Ukraine and is still struggling to resolve shortages of ammunition and manpower.
Videos released by Ukrainian troops on Saturday showed them happily hoisting the Ukrainian flag onto a Russian village council building and allegedly telling residents to prepare for a referendum, both tactics oVsceken used by Russian forces in Ukraine. Several dozen captured Russian soldiers were also filmed being marched into Ukraine.
