The Russian Defense Ministry published videos claiming to show successful strikes against Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast, but the videos were filmed in other locations and at other times, the Russian independent news outlet the Insider reported on Aug. 10.
The Ukrainian military launched a surprise incursion across the border on Aug. 6, bringing regular Ukrainian forces into Russia for the first time. Ukraine has continued to advance, triggering a state of emergency and "counter-terrorism operation" in Russia.
The Russian Defense Ministry and state-controlled media circulated videos that they alleged show Russian forces defeating Ukrainian troops in the region. A video published Aug. 9 claimed to show Russian troops carrying out strikes against the Ukrainian military in bordering Sumy Oblast in response to the Kursk incursion.
The video was in fact first posted weeks before the offensive, the Insider reported. The Russian state media outlet TASS published the video on July 14.
Another video published Aug. 10 by the Russian state outlet RIA Novosti claimed to show Russian helicopters striking Ukrainian personnel and armored vehicles in Kursk Oblast with S-13 airborne missiles.
The problem with this claim is that the video was filmed in Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, according to the Insider. Screenshots of the defense ministry's videos show facilities and territories that recognizably belong to Chasiv Yar and Kreminna.
The day after Ukraine launched its offensive, Valery Gerasimov, Russia's commander of the war against Ukraine, said that Kyiv's attempts to push deep into Kursk Oblast were "stopped," and that "the operation will end with the rout of the enemy and the return to the state border."
While the Russian Defense Ministry has tried to downplay the effectiveness of Ukraine's incursion, it also admitted on Aug. 11 that Ukrainian forces had reached the villages Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez, which are around 25 and 30 kilometers from the Russia-Ukraine border.
Francis Farrell
(Updated: )
