Russia-Ukraine fighting continues inside Russian territory

2024-08-09 08:27:03, Kosova & Bota CNA

Russian and Ukrainian forces are fighting in Russia's Kursk region for the third day in a row, Russia's Defense Ministry said Thursday.

Russia says it is one of the largest cross-border attacks by Ukrainian forces during the war that began 2 1/2 years ago.

But a Defense Ministry statement said the Russian army and border guards had not allowed Ukrainian forces to advance deeper into the Kursk region in southwestern Russia. According to the announcement, the army is attacking Ukrainian fighters who are trying to advance from the Sumy region of Ukraine.

"The attempts of individual units to penetrate deep into the territory in the direction of Kursk are being suppressed," the ministry said.

The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, which has closely monitored the Russia-Ukraine war, said that by Wednesday, Ukrainian troops had penetrated up to 10 kilometers into Russian territory, although this information has not been confirmed.

Ukrainian officials have not commented publicly on the fighting in the Kursk region.

The acting deputy governor of the Kursk region, Andrei Belostotsky, told the state news agency RIA-Novosti, “the enemy has not advanced a single meter. On the contrary, he is retreating. Enemy equipment and fighting forces are being destroyed. We hope that in the near future...the enemy will stop."

Russia's Defense Ministry said it has destroyed Ukrainian drones over the Kursk and Oryol regions.

Alexei Smirnov, Kursk's acting governor, said Thursday on the Telegram app that Russian air defenses also shot down several Ukrainian missiles overnight.

Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said on Telegram that Ukrainian drone strikes in two areas damaged an infrastructure facility and a house.

Ukraine's military said Thursday it shot down two Russian missiles and four drones.

The drone strike was carried out over Kherson, Kirovohrad and Odesa regions, Ukraine's air force said.

Kirovohrad Governor Andriy Raykovych wrote on Telegram that no damage was reported from the attacks in his region.

Kherson Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said that in addition to shooting down a drone over the region, Russian forces also bombed the city, damaging a residential building and several other facilities.

In Dnipropetrovsk, Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram that Russian forces targeted the Nikopol area with drones and artillery, damaging several houses.

Some information for this article was obtained from the news agencies 'Reuters' and 'Associated Press'./ VOA