Politics Russia under pressure after Ukrainian advance
Ukrainian troops are advancing in the Kursk region in western Russia, according to their own statements.
21.08.2024, 05:27
SDA
According to their commander-in-chief Olexander Syrskyj, they now control 1263 square kilometers and 93 villages in the region. The day before, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi had spoken of 1250 square kilometers and 92 towns.
Zelensky praised the military
Zelensky praised the military in his daily video address, which he held this time in the central Ukrainian industrial city of Kropyvnytsky. The situation in eastern Ukraine, especially in the area around the cities of Pokrovsk and Torezk, is difficult, the President admitted. But: "The defenders are doing everything they can to destroy the occupiers," he said, without going into details. Instead, he emphasized the progress in the Kursk region, where the Ukrainian army is continuing to gain ground. The Ukrainian head of state emphasized that Ukraine was achieving its goals and that the priority was to capture Russian soldiers in order to later exchange them for Ukrainian prisoners.
In the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, which has been going on for over two years, Kiev succeeded for the first time in taking the war back to the aggressor's country with the offensive it launched two weeks ago. According to military experts, the situation in the Kursk region is difficult for the Russian troops stationed there. Units south of the Sejm River in particular are threatened with encirclement after several bridges were blown up. Several videos of Ukrainian drones destroying military vehicles attempting to lay temporary bridges across the river circulated online during the course of the day.
Pentagon: Russia is struggling with Kursk counter-offensive
According to the US Department of Defense, Russia is also finding it difficult to respond to the Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kursk. There are signs that Moscow is moving a small number of units into the area, said Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder in Washington. "In general, though, I would say that Russia is really struggling to respond." Ukraine had "clearly put its opponent on the spot", Ryder emphasized. Ukrainian forces continued to advance into the area.
When asked whether Washington publicly supported the Ukrainian advance, Ryder did not answer directly, but referred to President Zelensky. He had said that the aim was to create a buffer zone, the US spokesman explained. Talks with Kiev were continuing in order to find out more about the exact objectives. However, Ryder emphasized, as a Pentagon spokeswoman had done the day before, that the Ukrainian counter-offensive in Kursk did not change the USA's support for Kiev.
Kremlin leader Putin draws parallels with terrorism
Russian President Vladimir Putin has also struggled to come up with a suitable response to the Ukrainian advance. During a trip to the Caucasus, he attempted to compare the offensive with a mass hostage-taking 20 years ago. "We know very well that not only were attempts made from abroad to justify the monstrous crime, but that the terrorists also received all kinds of help from abroad: moral, political, informational and financial," Putin said at a commemorative event in the small town of Beslan.
In Beslan in September 2004, over 30 terrorists took more than 1100 people - children, parents and teachers - hostage in a school. When the school was stormed, 334 people lost their lives, more than half of them children. Russia still has to fight against these "enemies of Russia" today. They are now committing crimes in the Kursk region and the Donbass. But just as it did against the terrorists back then, Russia will also be victorious against the "neo-Nazis" today, the 71-year-old assured. He did not provide any evidence of a connection between the Chechen terrorists back then and Ukraine defending itself against Moscow's invasion.
During a subsequent trip to Chechnya, Putin and the regional ruler Ramzan Kadyrov visited a center for the training of special forces, where Russian soldiers are now being trained for war.
Russia: Ten drones headed for Moscow shot down
According to the authorities, at least ten Ukrainian drones heading towards Moscow were shot down in Russia on Wednesday night. Some of them came down in the Podolsk district, just a few dozen kilometers south of the Moscow city limits, according to the mayor of the Russian capital, Sergei Sobyanin. There was initially no independent information or details from the Ukrainian armed forces.
According to the Russian state news agency Tass, further drones were shot down in the Tula and Bryansk regions. There was no further information on the type of aircraft shot down. Meanwhile, a missile was shot down in the southern Russian region of Rostov. According to initial findings, there were no casualties or destruction in any of the cases.
Ukraine has been subjected to air strikes every night since the Russian invasion in February 2022, targeting important energy infrastructure, among other things. Explosions were also reported from the Khmelnytskyi region in western Ukraine on Wednesday night.
This will be important on Wednesday
On Wednesday, both Putin and head of government Mikhail Mishustin will receive Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang. Li Qiang will be in Moscow from August 20 to 22 at the invitation of Mishustin. China is considered Russia's most important partner. Moscow has become dependent on Beijing since the start of its war of aggression. In contrast to Europe and the USA, China has not condemned Russia's war and has expanded trade with its neighbor despite Western sanctions.
