On August 9, the Russian Defense Ministry officially claimed that Russian forces were engaging Ukrainian soldiers on the Western outskirts of Sudzha, as Ukraine’s reported incursion into Russian territory is entering its fourth day.
Sudzha is situated less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the Ukrainian border, with the city of Kursk lying 85 kilometers (53 miles) to the Northeast. This marks the first time Moscow has acknowledged that Ukrainian forces have reached the town.
The Ministry also reported that Russian forces are “launching attacks on Ukrainian Armed Forces' personnel and equipment” near the settlements of Daryino, Gogolevka, Melovoy, and Nikolskyi.
According to Igor Korpunkov, the mayor of Kurchatov, battles are ongoing “a few dozen kilometers” from the town, which is located about 150 kilometers (93 miles) from Ukraine’s Sumy Region and hosts the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. Russian Telegram channels further claim that Ukrainian forces are approximately 15 kilometers (9 miles) from the town of Lgov, where a critical highway is located.
The situation in Russia’s Kursk Region has been elevated to a “federal emergency,” according to the Emergency Situations Ministry.
Previously, on August 8, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated on August 8 that “Russia brought war to our land and should feel the consequences of its actions. We, however, aim to achieve our goals as soon as possible in peacetime — under conditions of just peace. And it will be so.”
EmuSounds on August 9th, 2024 at 14:38 UTC »
One of the important things to note is that Ukrainians are fighting the relatively untrained but socially more valuable conscripts. These troops were supposed to be kept out of the conflict and would likely upset the population more if they were killed or wounded.
JamesWolanyk on August 9th, 2024 at 13:32 UTC »
Pretty ironic that Russia's explicitly stated reason for invading Ukraine (among many, many others of varying levels of crazy) was to neutralize the threats to its border security... and yet through that myopic decision to invade, they've created an actual threat that isn't merely on their border, but well beyond it.
If this were the same situation as earlier in the war, with a few minor settlements being raided before a rapid withdrawal, it would be one thing... but if you go by the LiveUAmap data, Russia's got a real Sophie's Choice when it comes to how to respond:
Go into full conscription mode, meaning Dear Sashenka and Dimochka from downtown Moscow will have to be yanked out of their parents' penthouse and mobilized; Pull troops/AA/artillery focus off the eastern front and leave it exposed; or Rely on (more) troops with no combat experience to set up the same roadblocks and defensive lines that proved utterly useless against Wagner's march to Moscow.Whatever they choose, it's already revealed a pretty damning flaw in Russia's strategy, because now, given the US' tacit okaying of the operation, they've got to start planning for cross-border attacks anywhere and everywhere, especially in areas with LNG facilities or other high-value industrial stuff. Given how much time and manpower they've invested in Donetsk and Kharkiv, it's going to be hellish for whatever logistics commanders haven't already been drone'd or fallen out of windows.
LEOgunner66 on August 9th, 2024 at 13:29 UTC »
This is a significant move from Ukraine - seizing the R200 highway to complicate northern route resupply and perhaps the start of securing territory to initiate a pincer movement to force Russia to re-task assets and prevent encirclement as F16 air support improves over the next weeks/months. Well played!