Ukraine on Thursday claimed new progress in its offensive into Russia, saying it had seized more than 1,100 square kilometres of territory in the biggest offensive by a foreign military on Russian soil since World War II.
Russia said it had recaptured the first village from Ukrainian forces in the Kursk border region and announced it was sending “additional troops” to the neighbouring Belgorod region.
Ukraine said it now controlled dozens of settlements and the town of Sudzha, eight kilometres (five miles) from the border.
“We have taken control of 1,150 square kilometres of territory and 82 settlements,” top military commander Oleksandr Sirsky said.
Ukrainian troops launched the offensive on August 6, reversing months of setbacks for the army which had been battling a Russian invasion for more than two years.
The top general also told President Volodymyr Zelensky that the military has set up an administrative office “to maintain law and order and meet the basic needs of the population in the controlled territories.”
Zelensky announced “the completion of the liberation of the city of Sudzha from the Russian army”.
– 120,000 Russians displaced –
Dozens of mourners gathered on Thursday at an Orthodox church in the centre of Sumy, a regional centre across the border from Kursk, to pay their last respects to six Ukrainian soldiers killed in the incursion.
Weeping family members were surrounded by a steady stream of friends and relatives dressed in black and carrying wreaths, while clergy recited funeral prayers and incense wafted in the air.
“It is hard to say goodbye to them, because we want them to live forever, to live among us as honored sons of their homeland,” the priest told mourners.
“Our job is to pray for our brave fighters and their families.”
The hearses carried the coffins one by one and the choir sang hymns. As the service ended, air raid sirens blared across Sumy.
In Kursk, AFP reporters saw about 500 people from border areas queuing for food and clothing being distributed by the Russian Red Cross.
– ‘Complete destruction’ –
The attack caught Russian troops by surprise and prompted a mass evacuation. Russia says more than 120,000 people have left or been evacuated.
At least 12 civilians have been killed and 121 others wounded in the fighting, according to Russian officials, although a total death toll has not been released since Monday.
Moscow sent in additional military units and on Thursday announced the recapture of the first village in the Kursk region.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the army had “completed the destruction of the enemy and reestablished control over the Krupets settlement.”
The Russian military also announced measures to prevent attacks on neighbouring regions, especially Belgorod.
Defence Minister Andrei Belousov said at a meeting with officials including Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov that Russia was preparing “concrete actions” to defend Belgorod from Ukrainian attacks.
These also include “allocation of additional forces”.
There have been minor attacks in Kursk and Belgorod since President Vladimir Putin launched Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but nothing on this scale.
– Intensity of attacks –
Ukrainian officials have argued the offensive was an act of “self-defense” and experts suggest it may have been aimed at relieving pressure on the eastern front.
Ukrainian troops are still fighting in the eastern Donbass region, a key Russian target.
“Most of the Russian attacks are taking place in Donbass,” Zelenskyy said, adding: “We are paying maximum defensive attention.”
Local authorities in three Ukrainian regions have reported at least five civilians killed in Russian attacks, including Donetsk in the east, Kharkiv in the northeast and Kherson in the south.
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Russia said its forces had captured Ivanivka in Donetsk, a border village just 15 kilometres from Pokrovsk, a Kiev-controlled transport hub in eastern Ukraine.
Pokrovsk lies at the crossroads of a major road that supplies Ukrainian troops and towns on the eastern border and has long been a Russian target.
In a briefing, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had “liberated the village of Ivanovka,” using the Russian name for the village.
Russian forces have been advancing toward Pokrovsk for several months, capturing several villages on the way to the outskirts of the city.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
