Key developments on Aug. 10–11:
- Ukraine pushing war into "aggressor's territory," Zelensky says
- Russian forces start fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Ukraine says
- July was 'deadliest month' for Ukrainian civilians since October 2022, UN says
- Ukraine destroys another Russian patrol boat in occupied Crimea, military intelligence says
- Ukrainian forces enter Belgorod Oblast as Kursk incursion continues, media say
- No additional Belarusian troops, equipment recorded near Ukraine's border, Border Guard says
Ukrainian forces have begun "to push the war out into the aggressor's territory," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Aug. 10.
The statement marks Zelensky's most public acknowledgement of Ukraine's cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast, which began on Aug. 6.
"Today, Commander-in-Chief (Oleksandr) Syrskyi has already reported several times, on the front-line situation and on our actions to push the war out into the aggressor's territory," Zelensky said.
"I thank every unit of our Defense Forces that makes this happen."
Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack against Kursk Oblast, which borders Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast, on Aug. 6. Russia's Defense Ministry acknowledged the incursion on Aug. 9, admitting its forces were fighting the Ukrainian army on the outskirts of the town of Sudzha.
Russian authorities on Aug. 10 announced a so-called "counter-terrorism operation" in bordering Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod oblasts in response to the incursion.
Ukrainian troops on Aug. 10 then reportedly entered Russia's Belgorod Oblast, three kilometers away from the Ukrainian border.
Kyiv has largely maintained a policy of silence on the incursion, despite the ongoing fighting and Ukraine's continuing advance. Zelensky has previously alluded to the move, saying on Aug. 8 that "Russia brought war to our land, and it should feel what it has done."
While Zelensky did not mention Kursk or Belgorod oblasts directly in his Aug. 10 remarks, he acknowledged that the Ukrainian military is taking action to bring the war back to Russian soil.
"Ukraine is proving that it really knows how to restore justice and guarantees exactly the kind of pressure that is needed – pressure on the aggressor," he said.
Francis Farrell
Russian forces start fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Ukraine says
A reported fire at the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) was likely started by the Russian military, Ukrainian officials said on Aug. 11.
Russian forces set fire to "a large number of automobile tires in cooling towers," Yevhen Yevtushenko, the head of the military administration in Nikopol, said on Aug. 11, citing sources across the river in occupied Enerhodar.
"Perhaps this is a provocation or an attempt to create panic in the settlements on the right bank of the former reservoir," he said.
According to Yevtoshenko, radiation levels at the plant are normal.
President Volodymyr Zelensky called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to hold Russia accountable for the provocation.
"As long as Russian terrorists retain control of the nuclear power plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal," Zelensky said in a Telegram post Aug. 11.
"We are waiting for the world's reaction, waiting for the IAEA's reaction."
The Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Europe's largest nuclear power station, has been under Russian occupation since March 2022. Its position near the front line has led to heightened nuclear safety risks throughout Russia's full-scale war.
Russian forces start fire at Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, Ukraine says. (Volodymyr Zelensky/Telegram)July was "deadliest month" for Ukrainian civilians since October 2022, UN says
At least 219 civilians were killed and 1,018 injured in Ukraine in July, making it "the deadliest month for civilians" since October 2022, the U.N. human rights office said in a report on Aug. 9.
"The high number of casualties in July continues a trend of increasing civilian casualties since March 2024," reads the report.
Russia carried out a mass aerial attack against Ukraine on the morning of July 8, targeting Kyiv, Dnipro, and Kryvyi Rih, among other cities, killing over 40 people and injuring at least 147, including seven children.
Okhmatdyt, Ukraine's largest children's medical center, was hit during the Russian July 8 missile attack. Two people, including a doctor, were killed there while one hospital building was destroyed and four others damaged.
A boy who was evacuated from the Okhmatdyt children's hospital after the attack died at another Kyiv hospital on July 10.
Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, the U.N. estimates that at least 11,520 civilians have been killed and at least 23,640 injured.
The actual figure of civilian casualties is likely much higher.
The number of dead and injured has yet to be fully accounted for, and some of the places that saw the heaviest combat in early 2022 are still under Russian occupation, making it all but impossible for outside observers to investigate.
Kateryna Denisova
Ukraine destroys another Russian patrol boat in occupied Crimea, military intelligence says
A Magura naval drone operated by Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR) destroyed a Russian KS-701 Tunets (Tuna) patrol boat and damaged three more Russian watercraft in occupied Crimea, HUR reported on Aug. 10.
The attack took place overnight on Aug. 8-9 near the village of Chornomorske on the northwestern coast of Crimea, according to HUR.
This is not the first successful Ukrainian attack on Russian high-speed Tunets boats used for patrolling and logistics. HUR said it had destroyed two Tunets patrol boats and damaged another two near the Crimean coast in May.
The Magura V5 is a multi-purpose naval drone developed by Ukraine and has been extensively used in attacks against the Russian Black Sea fleet, mainly by ramming into enemy vessels while loaded with explosives.
Newer versions of the Magura V5 are equipped with air-to-air guided missiles.
According to HUR, Ukraine hit a total of 18 Russian vessels with Magura drones, destroying nine, including a landing ship Caesar Kunikov, a Sergei Kotov patrol ship, high-speed Serna and Akula landing crafts, and a Tarantul-class Ivanovets missile corvette.
Kateryna Denisova
Ukrainian forces enter Belgorod Oblast as Kursk incursion continues, media say
Ukrainian troops have apparently entered Russia's Belgorod Oblast during the ongoing incursion into Kursk oblast, Ukrainian media reported based on a video published on the morning of Aug. 10.
In the video, posted by Ukrainian media, five uniformed men with blue tape armbands are standing outside the building as one of them says: "I wish you health, the 252nd battalion is in the village of Poroz, Belgorod Oblast. Glory to Ukraine!"
The soldiers in the video held the battalion's flag and a Georgian flag, and the sign on the building behind them reads "Porozovsky Village Club."
The Ukrainian-based fact-checking project VoxCheck confirmed the video as filmed in Poroz, three kilometers away from the Ukrainian border.
The date of the video's filming is unknown. It is also unknown whether it was a raid or an expansion of the ongoing cross-border incursion into Russia.
While Ukrainian officials and military command have so far not officially commented on the operation in Kursk Oblast, media are forced to rely on limited and questionable information circulated by Russian Telegram channels and videos of Ukrainian forces that often surface anonymously.
Russian authorities on Aug. 9 introduced a so-called "counter-terrorism operation" in bordering Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod oblasts in response to Ukraine's incursion.
Earlier on Aug. 9, Russia's Defense Ministry said it was sending additional military equipment to Kursk Oblast's Sudzha district, 10 kilometers (6 miles) east of the Ukrainian border.
However, Russia “may be resisting” the pressure to redeploy troops from the other front line directions to Kursk, as it could disrupt Russian offensive operations in Ukraine’s east, according to the report by the Institute for the Study of War on Aug. 9.
Belgorod Oblast Governor Viacheslav Gladkov announced on Aug. 10 that the entry to the village of Poroz is closed due to a “counter-terrorism operation regime.”
He also claimed that “residents who have just left say they have not seen the enemy and have not heard any shooting.”
About 10 people still remain in the village, Gladkov added.
Kateryna Denisova
No additional Belarusian troops, equipment recorded near Ukraine's border, Border Guard says
Ukraine does not spot additional Belarusian troops being deployed to the border amid Minsk's claims of reinforcing the border, State Border Guard Service spokesperson Andrii Demchenko said on Aug. 11.
His statement came a day after Belarusian dictator Alexander Lukashenko ordered reinforcements to be sent to border areas near Ukraine following reports of several drones from Ukraine getting shot down over Belarus on Aug. 9.
Lukashenko ordered to strengthen military presence in the Gomel and Mozyr directions, including sending the Polonez rocket systems and Iskander mid-range ballistic missile complexes there. On the Ukrainian side, the area borders Kyiv, Zhytomyr and Chernihiv oblasts.
Demchenko called the actions of Minsk "a whipping up to play along with Russia." The spokesperson did not rule out that Belarus could take photos and videos "for information influence."
"The situation along the border is fully controlled. We do not record the movement of either equipment or personnel near our border," Demchenko said.
Russian drones have crossed into Belarusian airspace several times over the summer on their way to attack Ukraine, the Belarusian Hajun monitoring group has reported.
The monitoring group said that "despite the massive and regular flights of drones into the airspace of Belarus," Minsk made "practically no comments" on the situation.
After claiming Ukrainian drones entered Belarus, Minsk summoned Ukraine’s Charge d’Affaires to Belarus on Aug. 10.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
