Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Aug. 9 that Russian forces are carrying out attacks against Ukrainian soldiers on the western outskirts of the town of Sudzha as Kyiv's incursion continues into the fourth day.
Sudzha is located less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with Ukraine, while the city of Kursk lies 85 kilometers (53 miles) to the northeast of Sudzha. This is the first time Moscow claimed that Ukrainian forces reached the town amid multiple reports about their presence there.
According to the ministry, Russian forces also "launch attacks on Ukraine's Armed Forces' manpower and equipment" near the settlements of Daryino, Gogolevka, Melovoy, and Nikolskyi.
The battles are ongoing "a few dozen kilometers" from Kurchatov in the Kursk region, claimed the town's mayor, Igor Korpunkov. The town is located some 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Ukraine's Sumy Oblast and hosts the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant.
Russian pro-war Telegram channels also claim that Ukrainian forces are some 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the town of Lgov, where a crucial highway is located.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
Earlier in the day, Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry said that the situation in the Kursk region has been declared a "federal emergency."
The state-owned train operator Moscow Railway said on Aug. 8 that the railway stations in Sudzha, Korenevo, and Psel are "temporarily closed to passengers."
Kyiv has so far maintained a policy of silence, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 8 that "Russia brought war to our land, and it should feel what it has done." He did not directly mention the incursion into the Kursk region.
Francis Farrell
(Updated: )
