Ukraine, Russia both claim advances in Kursk region
KYIV—Ukraine on Thursday claimed fresh advances in its offensive into Russia, saying it had seized over 1,100 square kilometers in the biggest attack by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II.
Russia said it had recaptured a first village from Ukrainian forces in the Kursk border region and announced it was sending “additional forces” to the neighboring Belgorod region.
Ukraine said it now controlled dozens of settlements and Sudzha, a town 8 kilometers from the border.
“We have taken control of 1,150 sqkm of territory and 82 settlements,” said top military commander Oleksandr Syrsky.
Ukrainian troops launched the offensive on Aug. 6, breaking months of setbacks for the army that has been battling a Russian invasion for more than two years.
The top general also told President Volodymyr Zelenskyy the army had set up an administrative office “to maintain law and order and meet the priority needs of the population in the controlled territories.”
Zelenskyy announced “the completion of the liberation of the town of Sudzha from the Russian military.”
120K Russians displaced
At an Orthodox church in the center of Sumy, the regional hub across the border from Kursk, dozens of mourners gathered Thursday to pay their final respects to six Ukrainian soldiers killed in the offensive.
Tearful family members received a steady stream of friends and relatives wearing black and clutching wreaths as the priest intoned a funeral mass and incense hung 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 task is to pray for our heroic fighters and their families.”
Pallbearers lifted the coffins one by one for burial as a choir sang hymns. Air raid sirens echoed over Sumy as the service ended.
In Kursk, AFP reporters saw around 500 evacuees from border areas queueing for food and clothes being distributed by the Russian Red Cross.
‘Completed destruction’
The assault took Russian troops by surprise and triggered mass evacuations. Russia says more than 120,000 people have left or been evacuated.
The fighting has killed at least 12 civilians and wounded 121 others according to Russian authorities, who have not released a toll since Monday.
Moscow scrambled reinforcements and announced the recapture of a first village in the Kursk region on Thursday.
Russia’s defense ministry said the army had “completed destruction of the enemy and restored control of the settlement of Krupets.”
The Russian army also announced measures to prevent attacks on neighboring regions, particularly Belgorod.
