Ukrainian forces are pushing further into the Kursk region of Russia, in a cross-border incursion that surprised even American officials, multiple US and Ukrainian officials say.
Ukrainian forces are comprised of a mix of Ukrainian regular and special operations units, unlike previous Ukrainian operations inside Russia that often involved undercover units and local sympathisers.
The intention, say US and Ukrainian officials, is multifaceted, in part to disrupt and demoralise Russian forces and in part to divert Russian forces away from other parts of the eastern front. US officials do not believe Ukraine intends to hold Russian territory for the long-term.
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Russia claimed on Thursday to have halted a Ukrainian incursion into its territory, but later said that some battles are ongoing in the Kursk region.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defence, units of the “North” group of its forces, together with the Russian Federal Security Service, the FSB, “continue to destroy Ukrainian armed forces formations in the Sudzhensky and Korenevsky districts of the Kursk region, which are directly adjacent to the Russian-Ukrainian border.” CNN cannot independently verify these claims.
Kursk residents, who live in the Sudzhansky district, recorded a video address to Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday asking for his help, saying he has been misinformed about the situation on the ground and the Russian Defence Ministry’s statements about things being under control are untrue.
The address was published on a local Telegram channel that is dedicated to covering the latest news out of the town of Sudzha in Kursk region, which has been under Ukrainian attack for several days.
“These lies enable the local residents to die. The Chief of the General staff recently told you that the situation is under control, but today huge furious battles are underway in the Sudzhansky and Korenevsky districts,” one of the residents said.
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“Sudzha was attacked, turned into ruins in a matter of hours. Local administration wasn’t working,” another resident said.
The Russian Ministry of Health says 66 people, including nine children, were injured in Ukrainian shelling of the Kursk region since Tuesday. Medicine, blood and its components are available in medical organisations in the required volume, the ministry said.
A mobile hospital with 100 beds to provide care to the wounded has been deployed by the Federal Medical and Biological Agency in the Kursk region since Wednesday, Russian state media TASS reported citing agency’s press service.
‘Surrounded by ruins’
People in the region have complained that there was no organised evacuation, that the Ukrainian incursion caught them by surprise, and that they left their homes without belongings and documents in the middle of the night. They cannot contact relatives left behind, they said, because the mobile network is not working in the area.
“We escaped under shelling. We were running surrounded by ruins,” one resident said.
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Ukraine has not officially confirmed its forces conducted a ground operation inside Russia. Neither the Ukrainian military nor the government in Kyiv has publicly commented on the operation.
“Hochu Nayti,” a Ukrainian state project created to provide information about the Russian prisoners of war, missing and dead military personnel in Ukraine, however claimed that “a lot of” Russian soldiers were captured in Russia’s Kursk region following the Ukrainian incursion.
Russia accused Ukrainian troops of crossing the border into its Kursk region on Tuesday, claiming that Ukrainian forces launched a “massive attack” and attempted to break through the Russian defences.
The extent of the attack, including whether Ukrainian troops took over any settlements or caused damage to any strategic targets, remains unclear.
CNN has geolocated video footage from inside a car that is being driven quickly through the deserted and damaged streets of the town of Sudzha, 10km from the border. Some wrecked vehicles are also seen in the video as the car moves north out of the town. It’s unclear whether the video was shot Wednesday or Thursday.
The Russian Defence Ministry said “attempts by individual [Ukrainian] units to break through deep into the territory in the Kursk direction are being thwarted.”
It claimed that the Ukrainians had “lost up to 400 servicemen and 32 armoured vehicles, including a tank, four armoured personnel carriers, three infantry fighting vehicles and 24 Kozak armoured fighting vehicles.” The ministry’s claims cannot be verified.
Russian military bloggers have described the situation as difficult, with communications jammed. One prominent blogger was seriously injured on Wednesday when his vehicle was struck.
Retired Australian general Mick Ryan, author of the Futura Doctrina blog and an analyst of the war in Ukraine, said on Thursday that the Ukrainian military had deployed “quality formations”.
“It appears that unlike in the 2023 southern counteroffensive where fresh brigades were employed, the Ukrainians have allocated experienced formations to this attack. This already appears to be paying dividends with the depth of the Ukrainian penetration so far.”
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