Ukraine defends incursion into Russian territory

By Stefan J. Bos 

Video footage published by the 28th Mechanised Brigade of the Ukrainian Army. It shows intense fighting between Ukrainian and Russian troops inside Russia’s Kursk region. 

Since last week, intensified shelling in Kursk was followed by an incursion of Ukrainian infantry, supported by tanks and armored vehicles. 

Journalists have seen a trail of destruction in the path that Ukrainian forces taken on their advance into Russia, blasting through the border and eventually into the town of Sudzha. 

Artillery fire has blown chunks out of a statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin that stands in a central square of the Russian town. 

As fighting escalated, Sudzha residents huddled in a school basement and wondered about their fate. 

Russia’s military has so far struggled to mount an effective response to the attack on its Kursk region, the largest on the country since World War II. 

Massive evacuation

The incursion has reframed the conflict, leading to the evacuation of more than 120,000 civilians, according to Russian authorities; and the capture of at least 100 Russian troops, according to Kyiv.

Sudzha, which is 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border, is the biggest town to fall to Ukraine’s troops since the incursion began on August 6.

The town, which had a population of just 5,000 before the conflict began, is strategically important. 

From Sudzha, troops can access main roads to continue their operation in Russia, and West Siberian natural gas for Central Europe passes through a metering station in the Sudzha district. 

Kyiv says its incision is aimed at force Russia into fair negotiations on how to end its invasion of Ukraine. 

Yet so far, Moscow has refused to halt its offensive, including in Pokrovsk, where citizens have been urged to leave.

Defensive stronghold

Pokrovsk is one of Ukraine’s main defensive strongholds and a key logistics hub in the eastern Donetsk region.

Its capture would compromise Ukraine’s defensive abilities and supply routes and bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the whole region.

Ukraine also faces Western pressure after new details emerged about its alleged involvement in the 2022 explosion of Nord Stream pipelines transporting Russian natural gas to Europe. Kyiv has denied involvement.

Germany has issued an arrest warrant for a Ukrainian suspect. 

Russia’s ambassador to Washington said on Friday that he did not believe Ukraine would have attacked Nord Stream without “the tacit approval of the United States” and that Russia would identify and punish those behind the attack.