Over the past week, Ukraine has launched a series of offensives into Russian territory in an unprecedented surprise attack that has seen Ukrainian forces sweep through the Russian Kursk and Belogrod regions with little resistance. Whilst still in its early phases, Ukraine’s top commander has said that Kyiv’s forces have taken control of 1,000 square kilometres of Russian territory.
Ukrainian troops launched the surprise incursion last Tuesday, reportedly advancing 18 kilometres in the first few days. So far, both the Russian Kursk and Belgorod regions have declared a state of emergency. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov released a statement saying the situation was “extremely difficult” and that “houses are destroyed, civilians died and were injured”.
As many as 180,000 Russian civilians are being evacuated from the border regions with Ukraine as the Kremlin scrambles to send reinforcements to halt the Ukrainian press. Alexei Smirnov, the governor of the Kursk region, told President Putin on Monday that 120,000 people have left the area while a further 60,000 are waiting to be evacuated. He also detailed that 28 towns and villages have fallen to Ukrainian control.
Russian President Putin has labelled the offensive as a “major provocation” and ordered Russian forces to “dislodge the enemy from our territory”. Furthermore, Russia has accused Ukraine of “committing crimes” and said that any prospect of peace talks are “on a long pause”. The Russian defence ministry said that it downed 117 Ukrainian drones overnight and was confidently repelling the offensive.
Ukrainian forces have reportedly captured 100 Russian prisoners of war during the cross-border incursion. A spokesman for the Ukrainian foreign ministry has said that Kyiv has no interest in “taking over” Russian territory but rather will use the seized territory as leverage in negotiations as a means to achieve a quicker peace. Yet, regardless of whether Ukraine is able to continue its advance or even hold its recently captured territory in Russia, the incursion has provided a long-needed morale boost to the Ukrainian side.
Former Russian Prime Minister and Leader of the opposition People’s Freedom Party has said that Putin is in “absolute shock” and the attacks serve as a “serious psychological blow” to him. US President Biden said the incursions were “creating a real dilemma for Putin.”
Written by Rakan Pharaon
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