Russia launched new push in Kursk Oblast, Kyiv claims attack 'thwarted'
Russian forces launched a new counterattack against Ukraine's left flank in Russia's Kursk Oblast, several Russian and Ukrainian Telegram channels claimed on Oct. 10.
A Ukrainian official commented that the "Russian plan in Kursk Oblast has been thwarted so far" as Russian forces suffered losses.
Ukraine launched its cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast in early August, claiming to initially seize some 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) but recently facing mounting pressure from growing Russian reinforcements.
"No details yet, but the Russian military suffered significant losses in equipment," said Andrii Kovalenko, the head of the counter-disinformation department at Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council.
DeepState, a Ukrainian crowdsourced monitoring website, reported late on Oct. 10 that Russia managed to push through the left flank of Ukraine's salient in Kursk Oblast.
"The enemy is now trying to establish a foothold near the settlements of Novoivanovka and Zeleny Shliakh," DeepState said on Telegram. The two settlements lie some 15 kilometers from the Ukrainian-held Russian town of Sudzha and around 10 kilometers north of the Ukrainian border.
Parallel messages also appeared on Russian pro-war channels. The well-known Rybar channel wrote that Russian forces launched several attacks in the Korenevsky and Sudzhansky districts, in which Ukraine established its foothold.
"The advanced groups of Russian troops reached Zeleny Shliakh by the end of the day, which allows us to claim at least a partial breakthrough in the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defenses," Rybar claimed on Oct. 10.
Russia's Defense Ministry alleged late on Oct. 10 that its forces had "penetrated" into the Ukrainian-held territory in Kursk Oblast and inflicted losses on manpower and equipment.
Later, on Oct. 11, DeepState reported that the situation in the area remains difficult, but Ukrainian forces are succeeding in stabilizing it. According to the channel, it was not yet possible to regain all the lost territory, but Russian forces suffered significant losses in the attack.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify all the claims.
Russia launched another counterattack against Ukraine's left flank in mid-September, but this attempt was halted by Kyiv's troops.
Ukraine's incursion was aimed at stopping Russian cross-border attacks and diverting Russian troops from the front in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainain Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi recently said that Moscow redeployed around 50,000 troops to Kursk Oblast from other parts of the front.
James Beardsworth
