Frontline report: Ukrainian soldiers deliver aid to Russian residents in captured areas in Kursk Oblast

Day 923 On 4 September, there were many updates from the Kursk direction. For the past three weeks, the Ukrainian forces have progressed with their incursion into the Russian Federation by continuing their offensive actions in the Kursk Oblast. According to the Ukrainian commander-in-chief Alexander Syrskyi, the confirmed Russian territory liberated by the Ukrainians amounts to almost 1300 square kilometers, and analysts evaluate that Ukrainians have the potential to cease an additional 700 Square kilometers in the Gloshkovo area.

For comparison, during the six-month-long Kon counter-offensive in 2022, Ukrainians liberated 4,800 square kilometers. The fact that the Ukrainians have successfully and so rapidly taken and kept holding such a large piece of territory inside Russia and are continuing to advance even further has led to different reactions within the Russian society and military. Firstly at least a dozen clips show how the Russian Civil population left behind in the territory now under Ukrainian control live now and how much they depend on the Ukrainian soldiers. Residents in Sudzha complain that they have not been evacuated by the Russian military and are even being exposed to their strikes, as seen in this geolocated footage from the local ice hockey stadium showing the devastation caused by a Russian air bomb. Recent footage highlights Ukrainian soldiers delivering humanitarian aid to Russian civilians and how a local woman warmly greets the Ukrainian soldiers, offering blessings and expressing gratitude for their assistance. Another clip shows the women trying to speak Ukrainian almost fluently as they interact with the soldiers. In a particularly interesting scene, a Ukrainian Soldier is seen helping a disabled woman drink water, with the woman lamenting that her family has abandoned her. The humane treatment demonstrated by the Ukrainian Army has even led one woman to declare on camera that such is Ukraine. This series of interactions vividly illustrates the significant difference in how Ukrainian and Russian soldiers conduct themselves when entering foreign territory with the Ukrainians fostering goodwill and support among the local population. Simultaneously Russian soldiers released several frustrated videos addressing the male population of the Kursk Oblast, criticizing them for fleeing the war rather than staying to defend their homeland. They urged the men to either take up arms or, at the very least, dig trenches and provide their vehicles to support the soldiers risking their lives in defense of Kursk. However, the local population remains skeptical of these military appeals and prefers to evacuate the danger zone as quickly as possible. A sentiment deepened by the actions of Russian forces themselves.

The situation was further inflamed by the Chechen Akhmad commander, who harshly called for conscripts to join combat operations, using derogatory terms to describe those who refused. This irony is not lost on the public, especially given the behavior of the Chechen forces. Recently shocking surveillance footage has emerged showing Russian soldiers looting shops in Russian villages under their control. One video captures Chechen soldiers robbing an electronic store, while another shows regular Russian troops looting a supermarket in Glushkov. The poor discipline among those supposedly defending the local population has led to oblast complaints, with some reports even alleging assaults against young girls in the region. The unsettling reports emerging from the Kursk Oblast have sparked considerable turmoil within Russian Society. A recent poll conducted by the state-owned public opinion foundation at the end of August revealed that 28% of respondents expressed outrage or dissatisfaction with the actions of Russian authorities over the past month. This growing discontent has been accompanied by a significant 3.5% decline in President Putin's approval rating. This drop is particularly notable given that the Ukrainian forces have only captured a relatively small portion of the Kursk Oblast, yet the impact on public sentiment has been substantial. The pressure on Russian military leadership to stabilize the situation in the Kursk Oblast has led to drastic measures. With significant losses and ongoing battles across multiple front lines in Ukraine, Russia's depleted pool of available troops has forced them to deploy African mercenaries to defend their territory. Videos from both Ukrainian and Russian sources confirm the presence of such troops on the front lines, some of whom have been captured as prisoners of war. Simultaneously footage from the cor region shows a tank with the old Belarusian flag, highlighting the irony of Russia relying on foreign soldiers while Russian and Belarusian volunteers fight for Ukraine against Putin's regime. This underscores the increasingly fragmented and desperate state of Russian military efforts in the area. Overall, the Ukrainian advances in the Kursk Oblast represent a significant psychological blow to Russia, highlighting the deteriorating state of Russian military discipline and the erosion of Civilian morale. The contrasting Behavior between Ukrainian and Russian forces, where Ukrainian soldiers have gained local support while Russian troops are mired in misconduct, underscores the widening gap in the legitimacy and effectiveness of each site. Russia's deployment of African mercenaries due to personnel shortages signals a critical strain on Russian resources and further weakens the internal cohesion of its forces. These developments expose vulnerabilities within Russia's military operations and suggest a growing internal discontent that could undermine the Kremlin's control and complicate its efforts to sustain the war effort.

In our daily frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war. Read also:

• Frontline report: friendly fire incident exposes disarray in Russian ranks in Kursk Oblast
• Frontline report: Ukrainians open new axes of advance in Russia’s Kursk Oblast