Russia has failed to push back Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region despite sending in reinforcements as the incursion enters its sixth day, Ukrainian soldiers involved in its army’s operation told the Financial Times.
Speaking near the international border, the troops said they remained in Russian territory.
Russian general Valery Gerasimov has repeatedly attempted to portray the situation as being under control, with the defence ministry posting videos on Sunday of fighter jets and helicopters purportedly striking columns of Ukrainian equipment.
But verified videos and photographs show Ukrainian troops and equipment have advanced 30km inside Russia since the operation began on Tuesday, moving further into Kursk and occupying the town of Sudzha near the Russian border.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy broke five days of silence on Saturday night to refer to his forces’ incursion into Russia publicly for the first time.
Zelenskyy said his commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi had reported to him about “the frontline situation and on our actions to push the war out into the aggressor’s territory”.
“Ukraine is proving that it really knows how to restore justice and guarantees exactly the kind of pressure that is needed — pressure on the aggressor,” he added.
A Ukrainian defence ministry official told the FT that they were being tight-lipped on details of the operation because they were “waiting to see how it develops first”.
Russia’s defence ministry said on Friday it had deployed tank crews, artillery guns and drone units after the Kremlin announced a “counter-terrorism” operation to try to halt the unprecedented Ukrainian incursion.
The defence ministry said it had shot down more than a dozen Ukrainian drones and four missiles in the Kursk region overnight on Saturday. A missile struck an apartment block in Kursk city on Saturday, injuring 13 people, its governor Alexey Smirnov said. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Russia has evacuated more than 76,000 civilians from the Kursk border region. Smirnov referred to the Ukrainian forces as sabotage and reconnaissance groups, and said they had caused panic. “The situation is stable but very difficult,” he added.
The ultimate aim of Ukraine’s incursion — which is using some of its best and most elite brigades — remains unclear. But the operation has demonstrated that Russia’s border defences are still weak more than a year after Ukraine’s first mini-incursion and has given Kyiv a much-needed morale boost.
Analysts have said Ukraine may be seeking to use the Kursk operation to improve its position in potential talks. It is losing territory and men in eastern Ukraine and is still struggling to resolve ammunition and manpower shortages.
Videos posted by Ukrainian troops on Saturday showed them joyously hosting the Ukrainian flag on a Russian village council building and allegedly telling residents to get ready for a referendum — both tactics often used by Russian forces in Ukraine. Several dozen captured Russian soldiers were also filmed being driven into Ukraine.