MOSCOW: Russian glide bombs have struck a concentration of Ukrainian troops near the border of Russia's western Kursk region, the Russian defence ministry said on Sunday. It said the attack was directed against "a strong point and concentration of Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel", and the bombs were delivered by a Russian Su-34 warplane.
Ukraine caught Moscow by surprise on August 6 by crossing the border into the Kursk region, in the first attack of Russian sovereign territory since World War Two. Russia has been trying for more than two months to expel Ukrainian forces. Earlier on Sunday, the defence ministry in Moscow said it was pursuing offensive operations at several dozen locations in the region.
As of early September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his forces controlled more than 1,300 sq km of Kursk, including 100 settlements. On Saturday, he said Russian forces had tried to oust Ukrainian troops "but we are holding the designated lines".
Russia said its forces had taken back several villages last week. The outcome of the fighting in Kursk could have a significant impact on the course of the war that began with Russia's full-scale attack on Ukraine in February 2022. If Ukraine can hold on to a portion of Russian territory, it will have a valuable bargaining chip in future peace negotiations.
On the other hand, Ukraine’s decision to commit a substantial force to the Kursk offensive has come with a price elsewhere on the battlefield, as Russia advanced in eastern Ukraine at its fastest pace for two years in August and September.
Meanwhile, Russia's defence ministry said on Sunday that its forces had taken control of the village of Mykhailivka in eastern Ukraine, where they have been advancing towards the important logistics hub of Pokrovsk. The Ukrainian military said in its daily report that its troops repelled 36 Russian assaults in the Pokrovsk area, including near Mykhailivka.
Russia launched 68 drones and four missiles targeting Ukrainian territory overnight, Ukraine's air force said on Sunday. Two Iskander-M ballistic missiles struck Poltava and Odesa regions, while two Kh-59 guided air missiles targeted the Chernihiv and Sumy regions, the air force said on the Telegram messaging app.
Ukraine's air defence units destroyed 31 of the drones, while 36 were unaccounted for, most likely intercepted by Ukraine's electronic warfare, the air force said. One remaining drone was still in the air, it said. — Reuters
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