After two and a half years of fighting a war on their own soil, Ukrainian forces continue to advance across Russia, with a surprise incursion into the Kursk region entering its third week.
Beginning in the early hours of August 6, Ukraine quickly broke through the sparsely manned border defenses and has now captured dozens of Russian towns and villages, adding to what has become essentially a grueling, block-by-block battle in eastern towns. The battle of war adds a new twist.
Source: Institute for War Studies and American Enterprise Institute’s Severe Threats Project
Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk brought about one of the biggest territorial changes since the first month of the war, when Russia rapidly advanced on Ukraine’s major cities. General Alexander Silsky, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, claimed that Ukraine controls approximately 490 square miles of Russian territory.
The Institute for War Studies, a think tank in Washington, said that if confirmed, this would be roughly equivalent to the area of land occupied by Russian forces in Ukraine from January to July this year.
Ukrainian President Zelensky said the goal is to create a “buffer zone” within Russia along the border. He did not specify how large an area his troops intended to capture.
This week, Ukraine built a bridge across the Sem River, a move that military analysts said could trap Russian troops between the river and the Ukrainian border.
Source: Institute for War Studies and American Enterprise Institute’s Critical Threats Project (claims level of progress in Ukraine)
At least three bridges were damaged, which The New York Times independently verified through satellite imagery and videos posted to social media.
It was unclear how many Russian troops were in the area, but satellite imagery from commercial satellite company Planet Labs showed Russia had built a temporary pontoon bridge to allow its vehicles to continue crossing the river. On August 17, one could be seen east of the town of Glushkovo, with ruts visible nearby. On August 21, another was seen further along the river north of Glushkovo.
On Wednesday, Ukraine released footage of Ukrainian troops using U.S.-supplied weapons to attack these Russian pontoon bridges in Kursk.
Although Ukraine’s progress has slowed since the first days of the invasion, it continues to advance, according to images confirmed by the War Institute.
Satellite images from Planet Labs show Russia building new defenses about 20 miles from Ukrainian positions near the E38 highway in Kursk. The defenses included trenches for troops to fire and anti-tank trenches, as shown below.
While Ukrainian forces are making gains in Russia, they are losing ground at home. Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine is building momentum.
Russian troops are less than 10 miles from Pokrovsk and within artillery range of the city. In the northeast, Russian troops have reached the doorstep of Toletsk and taken control of much of New York, according to footage confirmed by the Institute of War Studies.
Military analysts say one of the possible goals of Ukraine’s invasion of Kursk is to force Russia to move troops from eastern Ukraine to fight in Kursk, but so far the Kremlin has resisted. Instead, it has primarily brought reinforcements from elsewhere in Russia, prioritizing its military objectives in Ukraine over a rapid response to a foreign invasion.
