Ukraine reports success in its advance into Russian territory. Russia blames the West for the Kursk offensive – and warns of a world war.
Kursk – Ukrainian troops continue to advance in the Kursk region. “There is a new advance,” announced President Volodymyr Zelensky on August 15, without revealing any further details. The small town of Sudzha near the border is completely in Ukrainian hands. It is now to become the location of the first Ukrainian military command on Russian territory.
The Ukraine also announced concrete figures on Thursday: According to the commander-in-chief, Olexander Syrskyj, their troops have advanced 35 kilometers on Russian territory since the beginning of the Kursk offensive on August 6. In doing so, they have brought 1,150 square kilometers and 82 settlements under their control (as of August 15). However, it is hardly possible to independently verify these and similar claims by both warring parties.
Russia reacts to Ukraine’s Kursk offensive: Third World War threatens
How could this happen in the middle of Ukraine War What happened? For the Kremlin leadership, the matter is clear: President Vladimir Putin claimed shortly after the start of the military operation that the NATO-Countries had given Ukraine the green light to invade the Russian border region of Kursk.
Presidential advisor Nikolai Patrushev is also convinced of Western help. “The operation in the Kursk region was also planned with the participation of NATO and Western intelligence services,” Patrushev told the Russian newspaper IzvestiaOtherwise, Ukraine would hardly have dared to enter Russian territory. The Presidential Office of the USA However, he had previously claimed that Ukraine had not announced its advance into Kursk and that the United States had not been involved in the operation.
Meanwhile, MP Mikhail Shermet said the world is on the brink of a global war. “Given the presence of Western military equipment, the use of Western ammunition and missiles in attacks on civilian infrastructure, and the irrefutable evidence of foreign involvement in the attacks on Russian territory, one could conclude that the world is on the brink of World War III,” Shermet said, according to the Russian state news agency. Ria Novosti.
Ukraine takes hundreds of prisoners of war during the Kursk offensive
The surprising advance of Ukraine Above all, it highlights some of Russia’s major weaknesses. It became clear that the Russian border was inadequately protected. The majority of the troops consisted of lightly armed conscripts who had received little or no military training.
Some of them have fled from Ukrainian troops, while hundreds have been captured by Ukraine. Zelensky welcomed this as “further access to the exchange fund”, as Russia and Ukraine repeatedly exchange prisoners of war. Accordingly, an unspecified strategy for the next exchange, including lists, was drawn up at the meeting of the High Command of the Armed Forces. (cs with agencies)
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