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Ukraine 'Strengthening' Position In Russia's Kursk Region, Zelenskiy Says

By RFE/RL August 17, 2024

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Ukrainian forces are "strengthening" their positions in Russia's Kursk region after launching a major cross-border offensive more than a week ago that caught the Kremlin's military leadership off-guard and altered the dynamics of the 30-month war.

Ukraine's top military commander, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskiy, "reported on the strengthening of the positions of our forces in the Kursk region and the expansion of stabilized territory," Zelenskiy said on Telegram on August 17.

Ukrainian forces swept over the border on August 6 and, facing little resistance, pushed deep into Russian territory, capturing dozens of settlements. The surprise incursion, coming as Russia continues to advance in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, seemingly strengthens Kyiv's hand in any future peace negotiations.

Russia claims to have annexed four Ukrainian regions -- Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya -- in addition to the Crimean Peninsula. If Ukraine can continue to hold parts of Kursk and neighboring Russian regions, it could potentially seek to swap it for the allegedly annexed regions, experts say.

The Kremlin has been embarrassed by the incursion, the first foreign occupation of its territory since World War II, and has accused NATO of helping Ukraine plan the attack, an allegation Washington denies.

The Kremlin, which frames the war as one between Russia and the West, has often hinted at escalation in what analysts say is an attempt to intimidate Washington so it refrains from supplying Ukraine with powerful weapons, such as long-range precision rockets and F-16s.

As Ukrainian forces continued their surprising advance in Kursk, Russia's Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of using U.S.-made long-range rockets to destroy a key bridge in the Glushkov district in the Kursk region, killing in the process "volunteers" helping to evacuate civilians.

"For the first time, the Kursk region was hit by Western-made rocket launchers, probably American HIMARS," ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Telegram late on August 16 without providing any evidence.

While Ukraine has used U.S. and European equipment and weapons in the incursion, it still faces Western restrictions on the use of some weapon systems inside Russia, including HIMARS. There has been no indication from Washington that Ukraine has violated those rules during the course of the war.

According to Russian security officials, the destruction of the bridge cut off part of the district, making it more difficult for civilian evacuation out of the region. Ukraine's incursion has so far led to the evacuation of more than 120,000 civilians, according to Russian authorities.

By comparison, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has forced as many as 7 million Ukrainians to flee their homes. Russia has also killed thousands of civilians through drone and missile strikes on nonmilitary sites like homes, shopping centers, and railroad stations.

Kyiv claims to have taken control of 82 settlements over an area of 1,150 square kilometers since its surprise cross-border incursion on August 6.

The United States so far deems the incursion a protective move that justifies the use of U.S. weaponry, according to officials in Washington.

Nonetheless, Ukraine still faces Western restrictions on the use of some weapon systems inside Russia, including long-range missiles like the U.S.-made ATACMS. The Biden administration views the use of ATAMCS inside Russia as escalatory. There has been no indication from Western capitals that Ukraine has violated those rules during the course of the war.

The Times of London reported on August 17 that the United States is also blocking Britain from supplying its powerful, long-range Storm Shadow cruise missile. The U.K. sent a corresponding request to the United States more than a month ago, but has not yet received a response, the paper reported.

In a post later in the day, Zelenskiy expressed regret that the U.K. was restricting the use of Storm Shadows, saying long-range strike capability "is really a matter of principle for us." The Storm Shadow, which has a payload of 400 kilograms, can devastate targets more than 300 kilometers away.

Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on August 16 urged Washington and London to allow Ukraine to attack Russian territory with ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles.

In a separate setback for Ukraine, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported on August 17 that Germany has halted any new financial and military aid to Ukraine due to budgetary constraints.

In an August 5 letter to Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock and seen by the news outlet, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said new aid allocations can only be made if financing is guaranteed.

"Starting today, Olaf Scholz and the coalition government under his leadership are freezing financial and thus military support for Ukraine," Ingo Gadehens, a member of the opposition Christian Democrats, told the news outlet.

Aid that had previously been promised will be delivered. Going forward, funds for Ukraine will be allocated from the profits generated by Russia's frozen assets, the outlet reported.

Energy Facilities Targeted

Meanwhile, Russia's Defense Ministry accused Ukraine on August 17 of planning to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant and blame it on Moscow.

Russia would respond harshly in the event of such "provocation," Interfax news agency quoted the ministry as saying.

Meanwhile, Russian-installed officials at the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine said on August 17 that a Ukrainian drone dropped an explosive charge on a road outside the plant, endangering staff who use the road.

Moscow and Kyiv have repeatedly accused each other of sabotaging the operation of the plant, which was occupied by Russia soon after it launched the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Last week, Zelenskiy accused Russia of causing a fire at a cooling tower of the plant, while Russian officials said Kyiv was deliberately trying to destroy the plant and sow "nuclear terror."

Non-nuclear energy facilities have been targeted by both sides during the war, with Russia damaging half of Ukraine power facilities and Ukraine damaging more than a dozen Russian refineries, some more than once.

Kyiv and Moscow were to hold "indirect talks" next week in Doha on halting attacks on energy infrastructure but it has been postponed due to the Kursk incursion, The Washington Post reported on August 17, citing people familiar with the developments.

Russia Plans More Evacuations

Sudzha, which had a population of just 5,000 before the conflict began, is the biggest town to fall to Ukraine's troops since the operation began. The town is located 10 kilometers from the border.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Ukraine will establish a command office in Sudzha to coordinate aid and military affairs.

On August 17, fighting continued south of Korenevo, a town similar in size to Sudzha that would be an important tactical gain for Ukrainian forces.

RFE/RL could not confirm some reports that Ukrainian forces were at least present in part of Korenevo.

Russian forces have so far struggled to mount an effective response to the incursion, which is widely seen as a major morale boost for Ukraine.

Authorities in Russia's Belgorod region bordering Ukraine and Kursk have said they will evacuate five villages starting next week.

"From August 19, we are closing access to five settlements, removing residents and helping them bring out their property," regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov announced on Telegram.

Kyiv Investigates Beheading

Ukraine's Prosecutor-General'ss Office has opened an investigation into the alleged beheading of a Ukrainian soldier participating in the Russia incursion.

A video circulating on social media on August 16 showed a Russian soldier beside a pole with a severed head allegedly of a Ukrainian soldier.

The Telegram channel DeepState identified the Russian soldier in the video as a member of the 155th Marine Brigade, which is deployed near the Kolotilovka checkpoint in the Belgorod region.

According to DeepState, Ukrainian forces were fighting in the area on August 12. It is not the first time in the 30-month war that Russian soldiers have posted such videos. The beheading of dead soldiers is a war crime.

Russian Strike, Ukraine Hack

As it sought to beat back Ukrainian forces in Kursk, Russia continued its bombardment of Ukraine.

In the northeastern Sumy region, at least two people were wounded in a Russian missile strike early on August 17, according to emergency services.

The missile hit a parking lot near a high-rise apartment building, setting at least 10 vehicles on fire and shattering the windows and damaging the façade of the nearby buildings, Ukrainian officials said.

Overnight, Ukraine's air defenses shot down all 14 Russian drones launched in an overnight strike, the Ukrainian Air Force said in a statement early on August 17.

The Shahed drones were downed over six Ukrainian regions in the south and center of the country, including areas near the capital, Kyiv, according to the statement posted on Telegram.

Meanwhile, Ukraine's Main Intelligence Directorate said its cyber-specialists together with the hacker group VO Team had successfully infiltrated an Internet provider to an enterprise belonging to Russia's nuclear weapons program.

In an August 17 statement, the directorate said they hacked Chelyabinsk Internet provider Vega, whose clients include the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Technical Physics, disabling 1,173 switches and 10 servers.

"The information on the Vega servers has been destroyed. A number of strategic enterprises of the city were left without Internet and communication services for almost a week," the intelligence service reported.

RFE/RL could not confirm the information.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Ukrainian and Russian services

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-kursk-himars-ukraine- civilians/33082279.html

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Ukraine 'Strengthening' Position In Russia's Kursk Region, Zelenskiy Says