Video of Ukrainian soldiers in Russia's Sudzha appears online, no official comment

A video was posted on social media on the evening of 9 August showing supposedly Ukrainian soldiers who state that they are in the town of Sudzha, Russia’s Kursk Oblast, and have taken control of a Gazprom facility.

Source: a video from social media; Latvia-based Russian media outlet Meduza; Ukrainska Pravda sources among former military personnel

Quote from the soldiers: "It is calm in the city, and everything is intact. Gazprom's strategic facility in Sudzha is controlled by the 99th mechanised battalion of the 61st Mechanised Brigade."

Увечері 9 серпня в соцмережах з'явилось відео з бійцями, які стверджують, що перебувають у місті Суджа Курської області РФ і контролюють об'єкт "Газпрому".

Відео із соцмереж pic.twitter.com/vEeWIIJXuH

— Українська правда ✌️ (@ukrpravda_news) August 9, 2024

Details: One of the former soldiers of the 61st Brigade confirmed to Ukrainska Pravda that the video was authentic.

Meduza journalists claimed that the video was probably filmed on the 1 May Alley in the Zaoleshenka settlement on the western outskirts of Sudzha. The city branch of Gazprom Gas Distribution is located there. It is two kilometres from the town centre.

The head of Sudzha, Vitaly Slashchev, said in a comment to Russian media that the town is not under the control of the Ukrainian military. "Sudzha is ours. Evacuation is underway," he said.

It should be noted that the day before, The Washington Post, citing an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, wrote that Ukraine controls the Sudzha gas metering station, located about five miles inside Russia.

Background: 

• On the morning of 6 August, the Russians claimed that Ukrainian forces had mounted an attempt to infiltrate Kursk Oblast, Russia. Russian propagandists and military bloggers are claiming that Ukrainian forces have secured a foothold in the border area. Russian ruler Vladimir Putin called the situation a "provocation".
• Ukraine has not yet commented on the events in Kursk Oblast.
• A state of emergency has been declared on the second day of the breakthrough on the border in Kursk Oblast.
• Experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), having analysed the data collected, have confirmed the advance of Ukrainian troops up to 10 kilometres deep into Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
• Earlier, Russia's Defence Ministry confirmed the advance of supposedly Ukrainian forces in two districts of Kursk Oblast and noted that it had moved reserves to the border and was "attacking Ukrainian troops from the air". 
• On 9 August, Russia’s Ministry of Defence issued a statement on the situation in Kursk Oblast, acknowledging that Ukrainian forces were on the outskirts of the town of Sudzha.
• Igor Korpunkov, mayor of the Russian town of Kurchatov, where the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant (Kursk NPP) is located, reported that fighting is now taking place a few dozen kilometres away from the town borders, but urged residents not to panic.

Support UP or become our patron!