Russia claims to have started a fightback

BBC.com

Russia’s defence ministry says its forces have recaptured 10 settlements seized by Ukrainian forces in a surprise incursion in Russia’s Kursk border region last month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Russia had begun “counter-offensive actions, which is going in line with our Ukrainian plan”.
A Ukrainian officer fighting in the Kursk region told the BBC that the Russian counteroffensive had begun some distance to the west of Sudzha.
Ukraine’s offensive was launched with the apparent aim of distracting Russia from its push into eastern Ukraine.
However, Russian forces continued to seize villages in eastern Ukraine and are closing in on the strategic town of Pokrovsk.
In the weeks since Ukrainian forces entered Kursk region, they have destroyed three bridges across the River Seym to keep the Russians at bay, and several pontoon bridges erected afterwards.
Russian military expert Anatoly Matviychuk told the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper that more than 100 sq km of territory had been recaptured and “the enemy’s reserves, reinforcements, and logistical supplies can no longer reach Kursk region”.
Russia’s military was caught by surprise by the scale and intensity of the Ukraine incursion into Kursk region early last month.
Although Moscow was stunned by the ease with which Ukrainian forces seized towns and villages including Sudzha, President Vladimir Putin said almost a month afterwards that they had failed.
Meanwhile, a Russian drone attack left 14 people wounded in the northern Ukrainian town of Konotop, a key hub used by Kyiv for preparing its Kursk campaign.

POSITIVE

According to Russia’s ministry of defense, its forces have retaken ten settlements that Ukrainian forces had unexpectedly taken last month in the Kursk border region.

The start of “counter-offensive actions, which is going in line with our Ukrainian plan” was confirmed by Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine.

Russia claimed that during the course of two days, its “Units of the North” forces had recaptured the settlements in the vicinity of Snagost, which is on the western flank of the area that Ukraine had taken over in its campaign that began on August 6.

Six Ukrainian brigades had suffered significant casualties, according to Maj Gen Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the Chechen special forces, who gave the first hint of a counteroffensive.

Some distance west of Sudzha, according to a Ukrainian officer fighting in the Kursk region, the Russian counteroffensive had started.

Without revealing his identity, the officer stated, “The fighting is very tough and the situation is not in our favor as of now.”.

The apparent goal of Ukraine’s offensive was to divert Russia’s attention away from its incursion into eastern Ukraine. It currently asserts claims to an area of 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) in Russia.

The vital town of Pokrovsk is in danger of being overrun by Russian forces, who have nevertheless continued to take villages in eastern Ukraine.

The Russian counterattacks’ size, scope, and future prospects are unknown, and it is too soon to draw any firm conclusions, according to analysts with the US-based Institute for the Study of War.

Russian forces had ambushed the Ukrainians near Snagost without warning, according to a social media account associated with a Ukrainian brigade, and the Ukrainians were advancing.

Three bridges over the River Seym have been destroyed by Ukrainian forces in the weeks since they entered the Kursk region in an effort to keep the Russians at bay, and numerous pontoon bridges have been built in their place.

But according to reports, as part of their counteroffensive, the Russians were able to cross the Seym as well as several smaller rivers.

Over 100 sq km of territory had been retaken, according to Russian military expert Anatoly Matviychuk, who spoke with the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper. He also stated that “the enemy’s reserves, reinforcements, and logistical supplies can no longer reach Kursk region.”.

The scale and intensity of the Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region early last month took the Russian military off guard.

President Vladimir Putin declared almost a month later that the Ukrainian forces had failed, despite Moscow being astounded by how quickly and easily they had taken over towns and villages, including Sudzha.

According to him, Ukrainian forces had attempted to frighten Russia by getting it “to scurry, to send troops from one area to another and to stop our offensive in key areas, above all in Donbas.”.

In addition to failing, Putin claimed that Ukraine’s offensive had only aided Moscow’s “primary objective,” which he defined as taking control of the Donbas, or the industrial areas of Donetsk and Luhansk in Ukraine.

There are now only a few kilometers separating Russian forces from Pokrovsk and the nearby town of Myrnohrad, and there have been reports of heavy fighting on the approaches to Pokrovsk.

The regional director of Donetsk said that a water supply line to Pokrovsk had also been severed, despite the fact that the town had access to multiple wells. An overpass connecting the two towns was demolished overnight into Thursday.

In a related development, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced on Wednesday that three of its employees had perished in eastern Ukraine.

They had been in the Donetsk region, delivering aid.

While Zelensky referred to the attack as a Russian war crime, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) did not name the perpetrators, stating that it was “unconscionable” that “shelling would hit an aid distribution site.”.

In the meantime, Konotop, a crucial hub used by Kyiv to prepare for its Kursk campaign, in northern Ukraine was the scene of a Russian drone attack that left 14 people wounded.

In the border region of Sumy, prosecutors shared images of the town’s damaged apartment buildings. The strike caused Konotop’s power supplies to go out, and officials reported that major damage had been done to the energy infrastructure.

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