The Ministry of Defense of Russia acknowledged today that it has had to prevent new attempts by Ukrainian troops to advance in the border region of Kurskthe scene of fighting since Tuesday.
“Attempts by some (Ukrainian) units to penetrate deep into (Russian) territory in the Kursk sector have been repelled.”the military statement said.
Moscow stresses that the units of the group Sever and the border guard of the Federal Security Service (FSB) continue to “crush” enemy forces in the districts of Sudzha y Root.
In addition, Russian aviation is hammering the concentration sites of Ukrainian army reinforcements in the neighboring region of Sumifrom where they would have entered Russian territory.
According to the Ministry of Defence, kyiv has suffered up to 660 casualties since the beginning of the border incursion, in addition to the destruction of eight tanks and more than 70 armored vehicles and other military vehicles.
“The operation to destroy Ukrainian army units continues,” he said.
Military bloggers, meanwhile, insist that the enemy has taken control of a border post, where several Russian soldiers were taken prisoner, and is continuing to advance towards several towns in the area.
The gasometer at Sudzha, a tank that measures the flow of gas circulating through Ukrainian territory to European customers, was also seized, although the Gazprom consortium said it was still pumping the fuel through Ukraine.
The acting governor, Alexei Smirnovdeclared a state of emergency in the region on Wednesday to “alleviate the consequences of the incursion of enemy forces.”
Five civilians have been killed and 31 others injured in the attacks, which have not been officially claimed by kyiv, according to the latest figures from the Russian Ministry of Health.
Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, Valery Gerasimovestimated on Wednesday at a thousand the number of men who participated in the raid, whose objective would be the Sudzha district, an advance that – it said – “has been stopped.”
“The operation will end with the crushing defeat of the enemy”the military chief promised at a meeting with the Russian president, Vladimir Putinwho “called the largest Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory since the beginning of the war a large-scale provocation.”
The last attempt by Ukrainian forces to invade the Kursk region took place in March, when, according to the FSB, more than 100 enemy soldiers were killed and six tanks destroyed.
In the past, these raids were always claimed by armed groups made up of Russian volunteers loyal to the kyiv authorities, something that has not happened on this occasion. EFE (I)
#Russia #fights #Ukrainian #advances #territory
