Kursk attack: Top general reveals how much Russian land Ukraine captured

Russia has suffered several incursions into its territory during the nearly two and a half years of war, but Ukraine's advance into Kursk is the largest attack on its soil since World War II

Ukraine's top military commander General Oleksandr Syrskyi on Monday announced that Ukrainian military forces now control a 1,000 square kilometres (386 square miles) of Russia's neighboring Kursk region, according to an Associated Press report.

The announcement, made by Gen Syrskyi in a video posted on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Telegram channel, marks the first time a Ukrainian military official has publicly commented on the gains made from the lightning incursion that has embarrassed the Kremlin.

In the video, Gen Syrskyi briefed President Zelenskyy on the situation at the front line. "The troops are fulfilling their tasks," Gen Syrskyi reportedly said, adding, "Fighting continues along the entire front line. The situation is under our control."

 

Meanwhile, at the time of filing, Russian military forces were still struggling to respond to Ukraine's surprise attack after nearly a week of intense fighting.

What do we know about the Ukrainian operation in Kursk so far?

The Ukrainian attack began on August 6, and reportedly remains shrouded in secrecy, with its official goals still unclear.

Meant to counter Russia's persistent efforts in recent months to break through Ukrainian defences at selected points along the eastern front line, Ukraine's incursion appears to have caught Russian forces off guard.

According to the Associated Press report, President Zelenskyy has also confirmed for the first time that Ukrainian forces are operating within the Kursk region. On Telegram, Zelenskyy praised Ukrainian soldiers and commanders "for their steadfastness and decisive actions".

According to Zelenskyy, the territory now under the control of Ukrainian forces had been used in the past to launch attacks on Ukraine's Sumy region multiple times. Zelenskyy added that it is "absolutely fair to destroy Russian terrorists where they are".

In a video posted on Telegram, Zelenskyy said, "Russia brought war to others. Now it is coming home."

Meanwhile, Kursk's Acting Governor, Alexei Smirnov, reported to Putin that Ukrainian forces had advanced 12 kilometres into the Kursk region along a 40-kilometre front and control 28 Russian settlements at present.

Smirnov also reported that 12 civilians had been killed and 121 others, including 10 children, wounded. He added that about 121,000 people had also been evacuated or had left the affected areas on their own.

Smirnov also noted that some of the Ukrainian units operating in the region are using fake Russian IDs.

Meanwhile, the adjacent Belgorod region's governor also announced the evacuation of people from a Russian district near the Ukrainian border.

Why is the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk so significant?

Russia has experienced previous incursions into its territory during the nearly two-and-a-half-year war, but Ukraine's advance into the Kursk region is reportedly the largest attack on its soil since World War II. It is also the first time that the Ukrainian army has led an incursion, instead of pro-Ukraine Russian fighters.

The advance into the Kursk region also highlights the Russian military's intelligence failure to anticipate and quickly repel the assault.

How has Putin reacted to Ukrainian incursion into Russia's Kursk region?

According to the report, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Ukraine's surprise incursion, which has caused more than 100,000 civilians to flee, was an attempt by Kyiv to halt Moscow's offensive in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region and to gain leverage for potential future peace talks.

In a meeting with Russia's top defence and security officials on Monday, Putin said that the attack appeared to be Ukraine's attempt to secure a stronger negotiating position in any possible future talks to end the war. Putin, however, insisted that the Russian army would ultimately prevail.

Putin also reportedly suggested that Kyiv may have hoped that the attack would spark public unrest in Russia, but that such a situation had not occurred. He went on to claim that the number of volunteers joining the Russian military had increased as a result of Ukraine's incursion. He also stated that regardless of the attack, Russian forces would continue their offensive in eastern Ukraine.

According to the Associated Press report, Putin said, "It's clear that the enemy will keep trying to destabilise the situation in the border zone to disrupt our domestic political situation." He added that Russia's main task would be to "drive the enemy out of our territories and, together with the border service, ensure reliable protection of the state border."

What questions does Ukrainian incursion in Kursk raise?

According to the Associated Press report, the Ukrainian operation inside Russia has once again raised questions about whether Kyiv is employing weaponry supplied by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member countries. Some Western nations have hesitated from allowing Ukraine to use their military aid to strike Russian soil, fearing that such an action could escalate the conflict and draw NATO into the war.

For its part, Russian media has reportedly claimed that American Bradley and German Marder armoured infantry vehicles have been involved in the Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region. However, Western news agencies had been unable to verify these claims at the time of filing.

Ukraine, for its part, has previously used US weapons to strike inside Russia.

How is Russia responding to Ukrainian incursion in Kursk?

On Monday, Russia's Defence Ministry said that military reinforcements that had been sent to the area, backed by the air force and artillery, had repelled seven attacks by Ukrainian forces near Martynovka, Borki, and Korenevo over the previous 24 hours.

The ministry also reportedly said that Russian forces had blocked an attempt by Ukrainian forces to penetrate deep into Russian territory near Kauchuk.

The toughest phase of Ukraine's incursion is likely to begin now as Russian reserves enter the fight, Pasi Paroinen, an analyst with the Finland-based Black Bird Group, an open-source intelligence agency, told the Associated Press on Tuesday.