RussiaSelenskyj: Operation near Kursk serves as a security measure
SDA
13.8.2024 - 05:07
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has described his troops' offensive across the border into the western Russian region of Kursk as a security measure.
Keystone-SDA
13.08.2024, 05:07
SDA
The areas conquered there so far are regions from which Russia's armed forces have repeatedly attacked the eastern Ukrainian region of Sumy. Around 2,100 attacks have been registered there since the beginning of June alone. "That is why our operations are purely a security issue for Ukraine, to free the border from the Russian military," said Selensky in his evening video address.
Kursk will become a symbol of the beginning and end of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said Zelenskyi, referring to the catastrophe of the sinking of the most modern Russian nuclear submarine "Kursk", which sank in August 2000 with 118 crew members on board. "24 years ago there was the Kursk disaster, which was the symbolic beginning of his reign; now we are seeing the end of it - and it is Kursk again."
Ukrainian commander reports territorial gains
According to the Ukrainian armed forces, they have already made considerable territorial gains during their advance into Russian territory. Around 1,000 square kilometers are already under Ukrainian control, said Supreme Commander Olexander Syrskyj at a meeting of the Stavka, the Supreme Command in Kiev. The start of the meeting and Syrskyi's words were broadcast by Selenskyi on Platform X.
Earlier, the acting governor of the Kursk region had already reported territorial losses. According to him, the Ukrainian troops advanced about 12 kilometers across a width of 40 kilometers, which corresponds to about half of the number of square kilometers Syrskyj stated. The Russian military blog "Rybar" spoke of heavy fighting and a partially confusing situation. Initially, the information provided by both sides could not be verified independently.
Selensky instructed Ukraine's interior authorities and the armed forces to draw up a humanitarian plan for the operational area in western Russia. According to Russia, not all civilians were evacuated from the combat zone.
Russia complains about the use of Western weapons
The Russian military accused Ukraine of using heavy weapons from Western suppliers in the battle for the Kursk region. In addition to artillery and rocket launchers, armored vehicles that Kiev had received from Western partners were also in use on the Ukrainian side. However, there are no restrictions on the use of these weapons by the Ukrainian armed forces from Western partners.
Selensky once again emphasized the importance of the permission he hopes to receive to use the long-range weapons supplied by the West against targets in Russia. "We need appropriate authorizations from our partners for the use of long-range weapons," Selensky emphasized. "It is only fair to destroy the Russian terrorists where they are, where they launch their attacks - Russian military airfields, Russian logistics." Russia must be forced to make peace if Kremlin boss Putin is so eager to continue fighting.
Kiev has been trying for weeks to obtain permission to use long-range missiles against targets in Russia, for example. Until now, the Ukrainian armed forces have only been able to use drones of their own production for such attacks - with significantly less explosive power.
Heavy fighting in Donbass
Far away from the war in the Kursk region in western Russia, Russian troops have continued their attacks around the Donbass in eastern Ukraine. Once again, they attempted to break through the Ukrainian positions around Torezk and Pokrovsk, as the General Staff in Kiev announced in its evening situation report. The Russian ground troops were also supported by a dozen air strikes near Torezk.
Russian attackers and Ukrainian defenders fought heavy battles around Pokrovsk. A total of around 25 advances by Russian units were recorded during the course of the day, the majority of which were defeated. "The enemy losses are still being clarified", according to the General Staff. According to the Russian account, several Ukrainian settlements were captured in the course of the fighting. This information could not be independently verified either.