Ukraine acknowledges raid into Russia’s Kursk as Putin presses emergency button
Russia was reportedly using air and missile strikes
Ukraine on Thursday (Aug 8) publicly acknowledged for the first time its attack on Russia's Kursk region, as the fighting on the Russian border region entered its third day. Earlier media reports claimed Ukrainian forces were targeting a village 20 km deep inside the Russian territory. Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to UkrainianPresident Volodymyr Zelensky, justified the attack by saying that “the root cause of any escalation” was “unequivocal aggression” shown by Russia.
“War is war, with its own rules, where the aggressor inevitably reaps corresponding outcomes,” Podolyak added.
Russia declares emergency
Meanwhile, Russian military bloggers reported that fighting was going on along the highway east of Korenevo, 13 miles north of the border. They claimed that Ukrainian forces had effectively taken control of the western part of Sudzha, around six miles inside Russian territory.
Moscow declared a state of emergency in the Kursk region, prompting the evacuation of more than 3,000 people from the area. Acting Deputy Governor Andrei Belostotsky added that at least four people had died in the offensive.
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Russia earlier claimed around 1,000 Ukrainian troops entered Russian territory on Tuesday, backed by tanks and armoured vehicles. The country’s defence ministry on Telegram claimed Ukraine’s losses since the start of the Kursk operation amounted to 660 troops and 82 armoured vehicles including “eight tanks, 12 armored personnel carriers, six infantry fighting vehicles, 55 armored fighting vehicles, and one counter obstacle vehicle.”
Russia caught off guard?
Russia, on Thursday, claimed it was continuing to “destroy armed formations” from Ukraine but it seems the Kremlin may have been caught off guard with the sudden offensive.
Earlier on Wednesday,President Vladimir Putin accused Kyiv of carrying out “yet another large-scale provocation” at the Russian border.
Watch:Russia-Ukraine War: Russian border region sounds emergency amid Ukrainian blitz
Russia was reportedly using air and missile strikes, along with artillery to repel the large military offensive. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of Russia’s general staff, earlier claimed the offensive was successfully halted by soldiers.
“The enemy’s advance deep into territory in the Kursk direction was stopped by the actions of the units covering the state border together with border guards and reinforcement units, with air strikes, missile and artillery fire,” Gerasimov said in a televised address.
Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.
(With inputs from agencies)