KYIV: Russia on Thursday claimed to have recaptured a swath of territory in its western Kursk region, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky conceded Moscow’s troops were mounting a counter-offensive.
Kyiv launched a shock incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region on August 6, advancing kilometres into Russian territory and seizing dozens of settlements. The attack—the biggest by a foreign army on Russian territory since World War II—caught Moscow off-guard as its invasion drags through its third year.
Russia has insisted from the very start it would expel Ukrainian troops from the region. But it had until now appeared to be on the back foot, marshalling a humanitarian response and evacuating some 150,000 people. "Units of the ‘North’ group of troops liberated 10 settlements within two days,” Russia’s defence ministry said in a statement posted on its Telegram channel.
Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv, Zelensky said "Russians have launched counter-offensive actions.” He did not provide details on the extent of Russian operations, but said the incursion was still "going in line with our Ukrainian plan”.
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky said in late August that Kyiv had seized 100 settlements and almost 1,300 square kilometres (500 square miles) of Russian territory. Kyiv says it does not want to annex parts of Russia—as Moscow has done in eastern Ukraine—but hopes it could force its enemy to divert troops and could be a powerful bargaining chip in any negotiations.
‘Adjust’
The Russian counter-attack comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised Washington would quickly review Kyiv’s long-standing request to give it more leeway to use Western-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia.
"As we go forward, we will do exactly what we have already done, which is, we will adjust, we’ll adapt as necessary, including with regard to the means that are at Ukraine’s disposal to effectively defend against the Russian aggression,” Blinken said Thursday in a press conference in Warsaw. Washington currently only allows Ukraine to hit Russian targets in the occupied parts of Ukraine and some in Russian border regions directly related to Moscow’s combat operations. Kyiv wants more flexibility to hit Russian airfields and other military targets further from the front lines that it says are crucial to Moscow’s invasion.
"The delay in this process leads to Russia moving these military targets deeper into Russia,” Zelensky said Thursday. President Joe Biden—who has been hesitant to take actions that risk triggering direct conflict between nuclear-armed Russia and the United States—will review the Ukrainian requests Friday in a White House meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The Kremlin said Wednesday it would respond "appropriately” if the restrictions are lifted. Speaking in Poland after a trip to Kyiv, Blinken was also set to discuss an appeal by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga for neighbouring countries to help shoot down missiles over its western region.
Russia has upped its air attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks amid the Kursk offensive, including targeting the country’s energy infrastructure ahead of what is set to be another tough winter for Ukraine.
‘Another war crime’
The International Committee of the Red Cross and Zelensky said Thursday three aid workers were killed by shelling in eastern Ukraine. Zelensky said ICRC vehicles were hit in the Donetsk region, calling it "another Russian war crime.” "I condemn attacks on Red Cross personnel in the strongest terms. It’s unconscionable that shelling would hit an aid distribution site,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement, adding that "our hearts are broken today as we mourn the loss of our colleagues and care for the injured”.
All three were Ukrainian citizens, the country’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said. Moscow’s forces are also ramping up the pressure on the battlefield in the eastern Donetsk region, where the most intense fighting is taking place.
"Russians have cut off the water supply to Pokrovsk,” the city administration said in a post on Telegram. The key logistics hub lies around 10 kilometres (six miles) from the frontlines and is a major target for Russia’s troops.
Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin on Wednesday accused Russia of cutting of gas supplies to the city, where around 28,000 people still live despite calls to evacuate. Zelensky also said an Egypt-bound cargo ship carrying wheat was hit by a Russian missile in the Black Sea, shortly after leaving Ukrainian waters. – AFP