The Ukrainian authorities have mentioned that there are no indications of a reduction in Russian military activity along its eastern frontiers. This comes over a week after Ukraine’s assault into President Vladimir Putin’s Russia, which saw some of the fiercest clashes near Pokrovsk in recent weeks.
On August 6th, Ukraine initiated a significant offensive in the Kursk region of Russia, successfully securing a piece of land. According to military experts, this action was intended to distract Russian reserve troops and utilise them as reinforcements.
Dmytro Lykhoviy, a military spokesperson, stated that although Russia repositioned some of their troops from disputed southern regions of Ukraine, the move did not equate to substantial redeployment as of now. He confirmed on national television that there has been negligible reduction in Russia’s troop size, and the personnel number remains invariant, showing no signs of dilution or slackening in military confrontations.
Serhiy Tsehotskiy, an officer from the 59th Motorized Brigade, said that persisting Russian pressure is evident in the semi-occupied Donetsk region, which has been the heart of Russia’s attacks for several months. He further added that the Russian forces had employed all of their potential reserves in eastern Donetsk and have been assertively pressing Ukraine in that region.
Ukraine’s military staff confirmed that 58 confrontations took place near the city of Pokrovsk, located in the territory controlled by Kyiv, marking the highest reported count for a single day this month.
Serhiy Dobriak, the head of the Pokrovsk military administration, urged residents to relocate, announcing via the Telegram platform that enemy forces are closing in on the city of Pokrovsk at a distance of just over 10 kilometres from its outer limits.
The well-known Ukrainian military blog, DeepState, has publicised the progression of Russian forces within the Ukrainian eastern front villages of Zhelanne and Orlivka late Wednesday. In recent developments, it’s thought that Challenger 2 tanks from Britain were used during a surprise Ukrainian incursion into Russia. This followed the UK government’s reassurance that Kyiv had full authority to use British weaponry for its attack in Kursk Oblast.
Ukrainian forces, according to a British source, implemented the battle tanks, a report first aired by Sky News. While refusing to comment on operational specifics, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in the UK stated that there has been no alteration in policy since permission was granted for British arms to be utilised on Russian territory as an act of self-defence by Kyiv.
These recent developments within the conflict have ignited fears regarding a broader escalation in tensions between the West and Russia. However, the UK MoD reinforced Ukraine’s ‘clear right’ to use UK-donated weaponry for self-defence, including potential operations inside Russia.
In recent days, Ukrainian forces seem to be making territorial gains within the Kursk region while other Russian states sharing a border with Ukraine have declared a state of emergency. As Ukraine penetrates deeper into Russia, the latter has started relocating thousands more individuals from its border areas.
Alexei Smirnov, the interim governor of Kursk, announced the evacuation of the Glushkov district, home to 20,000 inhabitants. So far, data from Russia indicate that at least 200,000 residents have been relocated from border regions. Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, confirmed on Wednesday that his own forces had pushed a few kilometers forward and that the aim of bolstering a ‘exchange fund’ for prisoners of war was coming to fruition. A Ukrainian official confirmed that Kyiv was establishing a buffer zone to protect its population from assault.
On Thursday, the Russian defence ministry announced that Ukrainian drones had been shot down by its forces over their bordering region, Belgorod. Additionally, Ukraine locations in Kursk were hit hard by Russian Sukhoi-34 bombers. The ministry also noted severe fighting along the frontline with Ukraine and highlighted that its troops had secure better vantage points in several areas.
Despite the narrative of the war and Russia’s embarrassed public image being altered by Ukraine’s incursion, the weakness of its frontier defences laid bare and Moscow being left red-faced, Russian officials maintain that what they consider an “incursion” by Ukraine will not change the war’s trajectory.
For most of this year, Russia, who invaded Ukraine in 2022, has been making progress along the thousand-kilometre Ukrainian front due to a significant numerical advantage, establishing control over roughly a fifth of Ukraine.
Since 2022, Ukraine’s penetration into Russia has given it the most considerable battlefield victories. In related events, Ukraine’s air force announced on Thursday that all 29 drones Russia deployed over eight Ukrainian regions during a nocturnal assault were taken down. Officials reported minor damage as a result of the attack. sources: Reuters/PA.