‘Russians were unarmed, having coffee,’ Ukrainian soldier recounts moment they invaded Kursk
The cross-border attack by Ukraine began on August 6
New details have emerged around Ukraine’s ongoing offensive deep inside Russian territory, throwing light on the extent of unpreparedness of President Vladimir Putin’s regime. The cross-border attack, which began on August 6, caught Russian soldiers off guard and some of them were having coffee in the woods at that moment, according to an account of a Ukrainian soldier published by the Financial Times.
The soldier, identified as Volodymyr, was part of a unit operating a United States-provided Stryker armoured fighting vehicle.
After their group entered the Kursk region on August 6, they soon encountered Russian soldiers "sitting in the forest, drinking coffee at a table," he claimed. "Then our Stryker drives right into their table," Volodymyr was quoted as saying by the Financial Times.
He added all of them were unarmed and were quickly eliminated.
"We killed many of them on the first day. Because they were unarmed and didn't expect us," he added. Soon after, dozens of unarmed Russian troops surrendered.
Financial Times reported that the interview took place when Volodymyr’s unit returned to Ukraine on Sunday (Aug 11). The Ukrainian soldier further said that their Stryker vehicle was hit by the enemy’s rocket-propelled grenade on Friday (Aug 9), which gave the driver a concussion.
Russia caught off guard?
The sudden Ukrainian offensive has laid bare the embarrassing level of unpreparedness of Russian troops as well as Moscow’s intelligence apparatus. As of Monday (Aug 12), Ukrainian troops had already occupied 1,000 square kilometres, or about 380 square miles, of Russian soil, as well as 74 villages and towns. Putin has vowed that Ukraine would receive a "worthy response."
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday (Aug 15) also announced the “liberation” of the city of Sudzha from Russian forces. “A Ukrainian military commandant’s office is being established there,” Zelensky said, adding that “several other settlements have also been liberated. In total, more than eighty.”
Earlier, the head of Ukraine’s armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi, saidhis forces were still advancing and had taken up to 1.5 km (0.93 miles) in the last 24 hours. He told Zelensky that Ukrainian forces had penetrated 35 km deep into Russia's Kursk since the launch of the Aug 6 incusion.
(With inputs from agencies)
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