"The local population doesn't understand why they are being hit (by Russian forces) because the (Ukrainian) military is not even nearby," Vadym Mysnyk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Operational Tactical Group Siversk, said.
As President Volodymyr Zelensky kicked off a visit to the U.S. this week in a bid to secure more firepower for his army, Ukrainian soldiers on the ground monitored the news with half-hearted hope, questioning whether Kyiv’s top Western ally would provide enough to help them defeat Russia.
"I'm not saying it's a resounding success or will bring about the end of the war or the end of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin. What it has done is show our partners what we're capable of," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
A majority of those surveyed (53%) also said it was more important for Russia to oust Ukrainian forces from Kursk Oblast than to occupy more territory in eastern Ukraine.
Key developments on Sept. 20: * Russian commanders warned of plans for Ukraine's Kursk incursion months in advance, seized documents show * Ghanaian men lured to fight for Russia appeal for help from inside occupied Ukraine * First group of Ukrainian pilots complete French jet training * Ukraine's strike on Russian arms depot destroyed
While the earlier warnings were largely vague, they grew increasingly more detailed — including specific threats that Ukraine would try to seize the town of Sudzha — a warning that was realized after Ukraine captured it in August.
Key developments on Sept. 19: * Russian attack on retirement home in Sumy kills at least 1, injures 14 * Russia redeploys 40,000 troops to Kursk Oblast as Kyiv's incursion continues, Zelensky says * European Parliament backs Ukrainian strikes inside Russia, Taurus missiles delivery * Russia mining dams in Belgorod Oblast, Ukraine's military
"(Russia) tried to attack from the flanks, but they were stopped there," spokesperson Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi told AFP.
Vadym Mysnyk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Operational Tactical Group Siversk, said that the attacks would have continued even if Ukraine had not advanced in the Kursk sector of the front line.
"In the Kursk direction, the Russians have started their rapid offensive, and they want to use about 60,000-70,000 people there. We know about 40,000 people who are there," Zelensky said.
Key developments on Sept. 12: * Russia claims to have recaptured 10 settlements in Kursk Oblast amid ongoing counterattack * Russia pushing toward Kurakhove in Donetsk Oblast from several vectors * Ukraine downs Russian Su-30 aircraft above Black Sea, military intelligence claims * Zelensky urges the West to allow long-range strikes without distance limits
More than a month after Ukraine launched an unprecedented incursion into Russian territory, Russian forces have begun counterattacking in Kursk Oblast, aiming to eventually drive Ukrainian troops out of the partially occupied border region. President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed reports about the Kursk counteroffensive at a press conference on Sept. 12,
Amid speculation that the Kremlin is considering a new mobilization of conscripts, some potential draftees say they are not enthusiastic about defending Russian territory just over a month after the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast. "I won't go (to the front). I swore an oath to the Constitution, not to
At least 20 House Democrats and five House Republicans are calling on President Joe Biden to lift restrictions on Kyiv’s use of American long-range weapons to strike deep inside Russia, according to a letter sent to the president on Sept. 10 obtained and seen by the Kyiv Independent.
Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast has rattled Russia’s elite but Russian President Vladimir Putin still has a tight grip on the country, said CIA Director William Burns at the Financial Times’ Weekend festival in London on Sept. 7.
At an undisclosed detention facility, the Kyiv Independent interviewed one contract soldier captured in Kursk Oblast. To convey a better idea of what the thoughts and motivations of the average Russian soldier are in 2024, we are publishing this interview in full.
Ukraine’s bold incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast gives the country a much-needed breakthrough on the battlefield, and represents yet another setback for the Kremlin. Yet the operation is not a military game-changer. Even as Ukrainian forces have occupied more than 400 square miles (over 1,000 square kilometers)
Russia has pulled over 60,000 troops to Kursk Oblast to face Ukraine's ongoing incursion as of early September, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with NBC News published on Sept. 3.
The greatest risk facing Ukraine and the West today isn’t the nuclear war predicted by headlines. Instead, the real dangers are Ukraine’s humanitarian crisis, the influx of refugees, the spread of nuclear weapons, the risk of a larger European war, state-sponsored terror, and disinformation. Most concerning is the
As the world watched Ukraine’s stunning cross-border offensive into Kursk Oblast, celebrating an unexpected blow to Moscow, Russian forces advanced with alarming speed in Ukraine’s east. One month later, new front lines in the Russian border region formed in the wake of the Kursk incursion have begun to
Key developments on Aug. 31 - Sep. 1: * Russia attacks Kharkiv, injuring at least 47, including medics, children * Russia claims 158 drones downed in mass attack targeting refinery, power plants in Moscow, other regions * F-16 fighter jet in Ukraine unlikely shot down by 'friendly fire,' NYT suggests * Ukraine presents
Russia has not provided a humanitarian corridor for its citizens to leave Kursk more than three weeks after Ukraine began its incursion into the region, said Vadym Mysnyk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Operational Tactical Group Siversk.
Drones reportedly targeted several Russian regions overnight on Sept. 1, including Moscow, Tver, Voronezh, Tula, Bryansk, Belgorod, Lipetsk, and Kursk, according to local officials.
"(Russia) can't attack Ukraine and defend Russia at the same time, it has had to make a choice," said Kurt Volker, former U.S. ambassador to NATO.
Halfway down a narrow corridor painted all in gray, the guard wrestles with a bulky lock to gain entry to the prison cell. Inside are around twenty young men, sitting on a criss-crossing pattern of metal bunk beds. In the corner of the room, plastic cups and books are stacked
Key developments on Aug. 30: * Russian attack on Kharkiv kills at least 7, including child, injures over 90 * Ukrainian forces advance 2 kilometers into Kursk Oblast, Syrskyi says * Russia claims downing of 18 drones overnight, Kaluga airport reportedly attacked * Zelensky dismisses Air Force Commander Oleshchuk * EU to train additional 15,
Ukrainian troops have pushed 2 kilometers (1.4 miles) deeper into Russia's Kursk Oblast, capturing 5 square kilometers (2 square miles) of territory, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi announced on Aug. 30.
Members of the volunteer detachment, titled "Bars-Kursk," will receive training and weapons in order to maintain "law and order" in Kursk Oblast as Ukrainian troops continue to advance in the region.
Now is not the time to micro-manage Kyiv’s actions or to withhold supplies and impose strict caveats on equipment use, especially against military targets in Russian territory, out of fear of escalating the war, possibly to a nuclear level. Over the past few years, Ukrainians have learned that externally-imposed
As Kyiv's incursion into Kursk Oblast enters its fourth week, Ukraine is in control of 1,294 square kilometers and 100 settlements, including the town of Sudzha, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Aug. 27.
A day prior, Rafael Grossi, the director of the IAEA, visited the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant following allegations from Russian President Vladimir Putin and other officials that Ukraine has tried – or intends to try – to attack the plant amid the ongoing Ukrainian incursion in the area.
For now, the facility was "operating in very close to normal conditions," International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said on Aug. 27.
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