In the wake of escalating military tension near the border with Ukraine, Moscow has cleared more of its adjacent lands. This decision came following a marked increase in Ukraine’s military activities on the boundary, particularly after its most substantial intrusion into autonomous Russian territory since the war began in 2022.
Last Tuesday, Ukrainian forces breached the Russian border, swiftly extending to a few western areas of Russia’s Kursk region in an unexpected attack. The intent of this assault may be to strengthen their position in any forthcoming ceasefire discussions following the U.S. elections.
Russia, seemingly taken aback, managed to calm the frontline situation in the Kursk region by Sunday. However, Ukraine had made inroads into a narrow stretch of Russian territory where skirmishes endured on Monday, based on reports from Russian war commentators.
Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor of Belgorod, south to the border, stated that evacuations began in the Krasnaya Yaruga District, spurred by the “threatening” “enemy activity on the border”. He said, “I am confident that our troops will handle the emergent threat efficiently. We have begun the relocation of residents from Krasnaya Yaruga district to safer zones.”
Russia has enforced a comprehensive security plan in Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions. Concurrently, Belarus, Russia’s ally, claimed to bolster its force along the border after Minsk accused Ukraine of violating its airspace with unmanned aerial vehicles.
Ukraine’s daring offensive against Russian sovereign lands appears to showcase to its Western allies that Kyiv still has the ability to instigate major military actions, thus gaining an upper hand for possible ceasefire negotiations.
Russian forces, massively outnumbering their Ukrainian counterparts and controlling approximately 18% of Ukraine’s territory, have steadily made progress on the 1,000km front this year, following Ukraine’s failed counteroffensive execution last year.
Silence surrounding the attacks was shattered on Saturday when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated that his country had initiated an incursion into Russia to “restore justice” and exert pressure on Moscow’s troops.
Thomson Reuters, 2024.