Kursk Oblast raid: Russia says Ukrainian forces are advancing and gaining ground

Russian propagandists and milbloggers are claiming that Ukrainian forces, which are said to have entered Russia's Kursk Oblast on the night of 5-6 August, have secured a foothold in the border area. Ukraine has not yet commented on the events in Kursk Oblast.

Source: Meduza, a Latvia-based Russian media outlet; Russia's Defence Ministry; Russian propagandists on social media

Details: Telegram channels affiliated with Russia's Defence Ministry have claimed that Ukrainian forces have captured the villages of Nikolaevo-Darino, Sverdlikovo and Darino in the Sudzha district of Kursk Oblast (Darino is the furthest from the Ukrainian border – 4 km away).

Ukrainian forces are also said to have attempted to take control of the Rylsk-Sudzha road.

The propagandists claim that Ukrainian troops have advanced towards Goncharovka, a western suburb of Sudzha 8 km from the border, where according to unconfirmed reports fighting is taking place. There are also reports of fighting in the border village of Oleshnya.

Other reports indicate that Ukrainian troops are present in the settlements of Darino, Sverdlikovo, Gogolevka and Goncharovka, and that Ukrainian defenders have taken control of Russian strong points in Oleshnya.

In addition, Ukrainian soldiers are supposedly conducting remote mining of the Sudzha-Belitsa road.

Milbloggers claim that the front in Russia’s Kursk Oblast is 10-11 km wide and that Ukrainian forces have advanced 10 km west of Sudzha on a narrow line. The Telegram channel Dva Mayora (Two Majors) reports that Ukrainian soldiers "cannot be driven out of the occupied territory" and that the town of Sudzha has been "effectively evacuated".

Various propagandists have claimed that one or two battalions of Ukrainian forces have entered Kursk Oblast.

Russia's Defence Ministry issued a statement on 7 August regarding the situation in Kursk Oblast.

The Russian ministry claimed that the advance of Ukrainian forces deep into Russian territory had been prevented: "Its [Ukrainian – ed.] reserves have been defeated near Basivka, Zhuravka, Yunakivka, Bilovody, Kyianytsia, Korchakolivka, Nova Sich, Pavlivka and Horodyshche in [Ukraine's] Sumy Oblast".

On 7 August, Alexei Smirnov, the acting Governor of Kursk Oblast, said he had briefed Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin that night about the supposed drone and missile attack on the Russian region, adding that people were being evacuated from the border areas.

Background:

• On the morning of 6 August, Smirnov claimed that Ukrainian forces had mounted an attempt to infiltrate the Sudzha and Korenevo districts of Kursk Oblast. "FSB border troops and Russian army soldiers prevented the border from being breached," he added, asking residents to "remain alert".
• On the morning of 6 August, local Russian Telegram channels started spreading reports of fighting in the border area of Kursk Oblast. They claimed that Ukrainian forces were advancing to Goncharovka in the Sudzha district with their equipment.
• However, the Russian Volunteer Corps (RVC) and the Freedom of Russia Legion (FRL) – volunteer groups consisting of Russians fighting on Ukraine's side – have not reported carrying out any operations in the border area with Russia.
• The Russian Ministry of Defence said Russian reserves were moving to the state border with Ukraine in Kursk Oblast.
• The military analysis project DeepState has released photos of likely destroyed Russian equipment in Kursk Oblast.

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