Key developments on Aug. 12:
- Ukraine controls nearly 1,000 square km in Russia's Kursk Oblast, Syrskyi says
- Ukraine in control of 28 settlements in Kursk Oblast, Russian official tells Putin
- Kursk is Putin's catastrophe, Zelensky says
- Putin vows 'worthy riposte' to Ukraine's Kursk incursion
- Kursk incursion presents Kremlin with border dilemma, ISW says
Ukraine is in control of 28 settlements in Kursk Oblast, one week after launching a surprise attack into Russian territory, regional authorities said on Aug. 12.
Speaking in a video call with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the ongoing situation in the region, Alexey Smirnov, the acting governor of Kursk Oblast, described it as "difficult."
"Today, 28 settlements are under enemy control," he said, in comments reported by Russian state media, adding the incursion was up to 12 kilometers deep along a 40 kilometer front.
Smirnov's statement is the first official comment from either side on the status of territorial control in the region.
Ukrainian forces control about 1,000 square kilometers in Russia's Kursk Oblast as of Aug. 12, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said later the same day.
As Kyiv's incursion continues into its seventh day, Syrskyi briefed President Volodymyr Zelensky on the "offensive operation" in Kursk Oblast. This marks the first time both Zelensky and Ukraine's military leadership directly confirmed Ukrainian soldiers' presence on Russian soil.
Zelensky said he had ordered Ukrainian ministers and the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) "to prepare a humanitarian plan for the area of the operation," without elaborating.
In addition, he also tasked the officials and diplomats to present a list of necessary actions for Kyiv to obtain permission from its partners to use long-range weapons "to protect our territory."
After the incursion into Kursk Oblast, U.S. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said that Washington hadn't changed its policy of allowing Ukraine to use American-supplied weapons "to target imminent threats just across the border." Separately, U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the incursion had not violated U.S. policy.
Kursk is Putin's catastrophe, Zelensky says
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 12 that Kyiv's operation in Russia's Kursk Oblast is a "catastrophe" for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his full-scale war against Ukraine.
According to Zelensky, this area covers the territories from which Moscow launched attacks on Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, the region that has been experiencing daily strikes from across the border.
"Therefore, our operations are solely a security issue for Ukraine: liberating the border from the Russian military," the president said.
Zelensky said he had tasked the officials and diplomats to present a list of necessary actions for Kyiv to obtain permission from its partners to use long-range weapons to protect Ukraine's territory.
"We see how Russia under (President Vladimir) Putin is actually moving: 24 years ago, there was the Kursk (submarine) disaster, which was the symbolic beginning of his rule. Now we can see what is the end for him. And it's Kursk, too. The catastrophe of his war," Zelensky added.
In August 2000, the Russian submarine Kursk sank in the Barents Sea while on a naval exercise. All 118 people aboard died. When asked what had happened to the submarine, Putin smiled and made his now infamous remark — "it sank."
"This always happens to those who despise people and any rules. Russia brought war to others, and now it's coming home. Ukraine has always wanted only peace, and we will definitely ensure peace," Zelensky said.
Asami Terajima
Putin vows 'worthy riposte' to Ukraine's Kursk incursion
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Aug. 12 accused Ukraine of trying to "destabilize" his country, and vowed a "worthy riposte" to Kyiv's ongoing incursion into Kursk Oblast.
"One of the obvious goals of the enemy is to sow discord, strife, intimidate people, destroy the unity and cohesion of Russian society," Putin said during a televised meeting with government officials.
"The main task is, of course, for the defense ministry to dislodge the enemy from our territories."
Putin said in response to the incursion, there had been an increase in the number of men signing up to fight.
"The enemy will receive a worthy riposte," he said.
Russia has moved parts of its units from several directions in Ukraine, including the south to reinforce its defenses in Kursk Oblast, Dmytro Lykhovii, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Tavria Group, said on Aug. 12.
According to Lykhovii, the number of assault attempts by Russian troops in the Tavria sector is "ten times less" than in the Pokrovsk sector, but this does not mean "a lull."
Kateryna Denisova
Kursk incursion presents Kremlin with border dilemma, ISW says
Kyiv's surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast will likely force the Kremlin to reassess the levels of personnel and materiel it can commit to offensive operations in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Aug. 11.
The ISW said Russia had treated its border with Ukraine as a "dormant front line," that clearly did not have the level of military resources required to defend against such an attack.
"Russia's prolonged treatment of the international border area as a dormant front line is a strategic failure of imagination," it said.
The Ukrainian military launched a surprise incursion across the border into Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6, bringing regular Ukrainian forces into Russia for the first time.
Although reinforcements sent by Moscow have begun to arrive on the battlefield, Ukraine has reportedly continued to advance farther into Kursk Oblast.
"Russia has spent considerable resources to build fortifications along the international border area but has not allocated the manpower and materiel to significantly man and defend those fortifications," the ISW said.
It added that Ukraine's offensive will likely force the Kremlin to shift resources from inside Ukraine to defend the border regions.
"This conclusion will narrow the flexibility Russia has enjoyed in committing manpower and materiel to its ongoing offensive efforts in Ukraine, and the Russian military command will have to consider the requirements for border defense when determining what resources it can allocate to future large-scale offensive and defensive efforts in Ukraine," the ISW added.
Khrystyna Holynska
