Russian President Vladimir Putin convened an emergency meeting on Monday, 12 August 2024, to address the situation in the border regions with Ukraine. During the meeting, Putin demanded that the Russian Ministry of Defense “squeeze out the enemy” from the Kursk region.
“The main task before the Ministry of Defense is undoubtedly to squeeze out, to knock out the enemy from our territories and, together with the border service, to ensure reliable protection of the state border,” Putin stated, according to the video published by the Russian state media.
Extent of Ukrainian Advance
Aleksey Smirnov, the acting governor of Russia’s Kursk region, reported to Putin that the situation in the area is “difficult.” According to Smirnov, Ukrainian forces now control 28 settlements in the region.
“The depth of penetration of Ukrainian troops is 12 km, with a width of 40 km,” Smirnov disclosed. He added that 121,000 people have already left or been evacuated from the region, with plans to evacuate an additional 180,000 individuals.
The actual Ukrainian advance might be even deeper into Russia, with independent observers assessing the current penetration up to 30 kilometers deep.
Ukrainian Perspective
On 10 August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that he had received reports from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, regarding efforts to push the conflict onto the aggressor’s territory.
Later, in his first public statement since the reports about the Ukrainian offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, confirmed that “the operation” continues.
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief on the frontline situation: we are continuing the operation
International Observations
Forbes magazine reported that Ukrainian troops have been digging trenches in Russia’s Kursk region, suggesting plans for a prolonged presence in the area. Journalists have also geolocated video footage showing Ukrainian military equipment moving through the village of Gyrye in the Belovsky district of the Kursk region, approximately 30 km southeast of the town of Sudzha, indicating the widening of the frontline in the region.
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