Battle of Kursk II - 12 August 2024 - Day 7
Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi declared that Ukraine now controls around 1,000 km² of Russian territory. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Russia must be forced to make peace after Kyiv’s major cross-border assault into the western Russian region of Kursk. "Russia brought war to others, now it’s coming home," Zelensky warned.
Vladimir Putin's statements at a meeting on the situation in the Kursk region: "We must assess the developments unfolding there, and we will offer our evaluation. That said, what matters the most is addressing the urgent tasks we are facing right now based on the way the situation is expected to unfold. It goes without saying that the main objective for the Defence Ministry is to force the adversary to withdraw from our territory and reliably secure our state border by working together with the Border Service. The Federal Security Service must work with the National Guard as part of the counter-terrorist regime and effectively counter the enemy’s sabotage and reconnaissance groups. The National Guard has its own combat objectives too....
"It appears that the enemy, with the support from their Western backers, is executing their directives, and the West is using Ukrainians as proxies in this conflict. It seems the opponent is aiming to strengthen their negotiating position for the future. However, what kind of negotiations can we have with those who indiscriminately attack civilians and civilian infrastructure, or pose threats to nuclear power facilities? What is there to discuss with such parties?
"Second, these actions clearly aim to achieve a primary military objective: to halt the advance of our forces in their effort to fully liberate the territories of the Lugansk and Donetsk people’s republics, the Novorossiya region. So, what is the current situation on the front lines, and what are the results? The pace of offensive operations by the Russian Armed Forces, volunteers, and veterans has not only remained steady but has actually increased by fifty percent. Our troops are advancing along the entire front.
"Lastly, another clear objective of the enemy is to create discord and division within our society, to instil fear, and to undermine the unity and cohesion of the Russian people. They aim to disrupt the domestic political landscape. However, the response from Russian citizens has been resolute: there is widespread support for those in need, strong backing for the army, and, importantly, a rising number of individuals eager to join the ranks of those heroically defending Russia. Recently, there has been a notable increase in the number of people signing contracts with the Ministry of Defence......
"I would like to say once again that it is obvious for us that the enemy will continue trying to destabilise the situation in the border regions in order to destabilise the domestic political situation in Russia."
Putin cut off the acting gov of Kursk after he began reporting on the gains made by Ukraine.
Smirnov: "480 square kilometers of territory and 28 settlementsin the Kursk region had been captured."
Putin: "Listen, Alexey Borisovich, the military department will report to us what the breadth and depth are there. You tell us about the socio-economic situation and assistance to people,"
The acting governor of the Kursk region, Alexey Smirnov, reported on the beginning of the construction of defensive lines in the Kursk region. Thus, on the instructions of the Ministry of Defense, 90 platoon strongholds are being built , to which 350 units of equipment and up to 5,000 builders are involved, and 40 checkpoints are being placed within the framework of the counter-terrorist operation regime. The head of the region also boasted that "40 km of anti-tank ditch out of 46 planned have already been dug." According to Smirnov, there is currently no clear front line in the Kursk region, which complicates determining the location of the enemy, and enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups with Russian documents are operating on the territory of the region.
Participants in the meeting included Secretary of the Security Council Sergei Shoigu, Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin, Presidential Aide Alexei Dyumin, Interior Minister Vladimir Kolokoltsev, Minister for Civil Defence, Emergencies and Natural Disaster Relief Alexander Kurenkov, Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov, Director of the Federal Service of National Guard Troops – Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard Troops Viktor Zolotov, and Chief of the General Staff – First Deputy Minister of Defence Valery Gerasimov.
Planet Labe released satellite images of the construction of a new line of defense in the near rear of the Russian Armed Forces south of Kurchatov along the 38K-010 "Crimea" - Ivanino highway. The phase of consolidating both sides along the new front line has begun. The urgently built defensive positions for the approaching Russian reserves are designed to prevent the enemy from breaking through, even if the Ukrainian Armed Forces bring some reserves into the battle. However, at the moment, these trenches will play the role of a "second line", since the advance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has already stopped about 10 km south and southwest of the construction site for a couple of days.
In the Kursk region, General-Colonel Alexei Dyumin, an assistant to the President, will coordinate the actions of the Russian Armed Forces with law enforcement agencies and local authorities. He received instructions from the Supreme Commander and may have already arrived in Kursk.
Intelschizo reported that 195,000 Russians were under mandatory evacuation from Kursk and Belgorod Oblasts - that's 15% of the region's population. Over 180,000 people were subject to evacuation from Kursk Oblast, with 121,000 people already evacuated. The amended train schedule for trains running through the Kursk region is being extended.
A Ukrainian "saboteur" captured by volunteers in his underwear turned out to be from the 80th separate airborne assault brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. During interrogation at the FSB, the intruder said that the goal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces offensive operation was to seize as much territory in the Kursk and Belgorod regions as possible. According to the prisoner, Ukraine had been preparing for the operation since July 28, and the Russian territories captured during the operation were allegedly planned to be exchanged for similar Ukrainian territories during future peace talks.
«The Security Service of Ukraine records the attempts of the special services of the Russian Federation to use the situation in the Kursk region to baselessly accuse Ukrainian defenders of committing war crimes. For this purpose, the Russian side creates and distributes various fakes and misinformation that have nothing to do with reality. Such informational and psychological special operations of the enemy are connected, first of all, with the impossibility of effectively countering the offensive actions of the Armed Forces.
«According to the SBU, in the near future the Russian special services may resort to staging crimes, in particular, against the civilian population of the Kursk region, in order to further accuse the Ukrainian side of committing them. The Security Service of Ukraine warns that such attempts are futile and will not affect the offensive actions of the Armed Forces or the opinion of our country's international partners.
«After all, the Defense Forces of Ukraine have proven to the whole world that they strictly follow the rules and customs of warfare. In particular, both regarding the treatment of Russian prisoners of war and the civilian population. Ukrainian soldiers are steadily approaching the Victory of Ukraine. And no enemy IPSO will stand in the way of this.»
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