Ukrainian forces have advanced 800 square kilometers into Russia’s Kursk region, according to Russian sources gathered by the US Institute for the Study of War (ISW) and analyzed today by AFP.
Ukraine claims to control 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory in this region. After months of retreat on the eastern front, Ukraine on August 6 launched its largest cross-border offensive against Russia since the Russian invasion began in February 2022.
By comparison, Russia has advanced 1,360 square kilometers into Ukrainian territory since the beginning of the year. Ukrainian counter-attacks on Ukrainian territory during the same period only cost it 20 square kilometers, according to the AFP analysis.
The large, failed Ukrainian counteroffensive in the summer of 2023 allowed Kiev to recapture about 250 sq. km in the regions of Donetsk and Zaporizhia.
The Russian advance did not stop
However, the Russian advance on Ukrainian territory did not stop after the August 6 surprise attack: the Russian army captured another 69 sq. km of land from this day and a total of 111 sq. km from the beginning of the month. To these should be added the 201 sq. km occupied in July.
In total, after the February 24, 2022 invasion, Russia captured 65,891 sq. km of Ukrainian territory (data up to August 12). Together with the annexed Crimea (2014) and the zones of eastern Ukraine already controlled by Moscow before the war, Russia has seized 108,070 sq. km or 18% of Ukraine, taking into account internationally recognized borders.
AFP’s calculations were based on ISW’s daily announcements, which in turn is based on public information from both sides and analysis of satellite images.
Zelensky: We can succeed
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today that his country had once again proved it can take initiative as an unprecedented incursion by Ukrainian forces into Russia’s Kursk region continues.
“We proved once again that, in any situation, we Ukrainians can achieve our goals, we can defend our interests and our independence,” Zelensky stressed in a video message released tonight.
Earlier today, President Zelensky met in Kiev with Lithuanian Defense Minister Laurina Kasciunas, who informed him that Moscow was moving troops from Kaliningrad – the Russian enclave located between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea – to Kursk to bolster military businesses in the area.
Latvia reinforces Ukraine with 500 drones
Latvia will soon deliver hundreds of drones to Ukraine in order to bolster it in its war with Russia. The Ministry of Defense in Riga announced that it has collected about 500 drones of various types from Latvian manufacturing companies, which will be sent to Kiev.
At the same time, the Latvian government decided to hand over 30 used patrol cars to the Ukrainian police.
In July, Latvia announced that it intended to gradually deliver to Ukraine more than 2,500 drones, worth a total of 4 million euros. The Ministry of Defense had indicated that they would be manufactured by seven Latvian companies.
Two and a half years after the start of the Russian invasion, Ukraine is heavily dependent on military aid from its Western allies.
Along with Britain, Latvia is leading an international initiative to build one million drones to bolster the Ukrainian armed forces.
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