Russia declares start of counter-offensive in Kursk region

Russia’s Defense Ministry says its forces have retaken 10 settlements seized by Ukrainian forces in a surprise attack on Russia’s Kursk border region last month.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that Russia had begun “counter-offensive actions, in accordance with Ukraine’s plans”.

Russia said its “Northern Divisions” forces had recaptured settlements within two days in the area around Snagost, on the western flank of the Ukrainian-occupied region, in an operation launched on August 6.

The first sign of a counterattack came from the commander of Chechen special forces, Major General Apti Alaudinov, who said six Ukrainian brigades had suffered heavy casualties.

A Ukrainian officer fighting in the Kursk region told the BBC that the Russian counter-offensive had begun some distance west of Sudzha.

“The fighting is fierce and the current situation is not in our favor,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

Ukraine’s offensive was launched with the explicit aim of distracting Russia from its offensive in eastern Ukraine, which now claims up to 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russian territory.

However, Russian troops continue to occupy villages in eastern Ukraine and are closing in on the strategic town of Pokrovsk.

Analysts from the US-based Institute for the Study of War said the size, scope and potential prospects of Russia’s counterattacks remain unclear and it is too early to draw any conclusions.

A social media account linked to a Ukrainian brigade said Russian forces launched a surprise attack near Snagost and Ukrainian troops fought back.

In the weeks since the Ukrainian army entered the Kursk region, they have destroyed three bridges over the Seym River to stop the Russians, and several pontoon bridges have been erected since.

However, reports suggest that the Russians were able to cross the Seym River and other smaller rivers as part of their counter-offensive.

Russian military expert Anatoly Matviychuk told the Moskovsky Komsomolets newspaper that more than 100 square kilometers of territory had been recaptured and “enemy reserves, reinforcements and logistical supplies can no longer reach the Kursk region.”

The Russian military was caught off guard by the scale and intensity of the Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region early last month.

Although Moscow was stunned by the ease with which Ukrainian troops captured towns and villages, including Sudzha, nearly a month later President Vladimir Putin declared that they had failed.

Ukrainian forces have tried to keep Russia on its toes – “fleeing, moving troops from one area to another and stopping our offensive in key areas, above all in Donbas” – he said.

Putin argued that the campaign was not only ineffective but also helped Moscow’s “main goal”, which he identified as seizing Donbas – Ukraine’s industrial regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Russian forces are now just a few kilometers from Pokrovsk and the neighboring town of Myrnohrad and fierce fighting is taking place on the road to Pokrovsk.

A flyover between the two towns was destroyed on Thursday night and the head of the Donetsk region said the water supply to Pokrovsk had also been cut, although he said the town had access to some wells.

On Wednesday alone, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Three of its employees were killed in eastern Ukraine..

They have provided aid in the Donetsk region.

Zelensky called the attack a war crime by Russia but the ICRC did not identify who was behind it, adding that it was “unconscionable” to “target an aid distribution site with shelling”.

Meanwhile, a Russian drone attack injured 14 people in the northern Ukrainian town of Konotop, a key hub Kyiv used to prepare for the Kursk operation.

Prosecutors in the border region of Sumy posted photos showing damaged apartment buildings in the town. Power supplies to Konotop were disrupted by the strike, and officials said there was significant damage to energy infrastructure.