A US think tank says Ukrainian forces have made confirmed advances of up to 10 kilometers into Russia’s western border region of Kursk.
The Institute for the Study of War on Wednesday released its assessment about the cross-border incursion.
The institute made the analysis based on locally-taken footage and other information. It also quotes Russian sources as reporting that Ukrainian forces have captured 11 settlements.
Russia revealed on Tuesday that the Ukrainian military had begun the cross-border foray. Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov told President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday that about 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers had launched the assault aiming to seize part of Kursk.
Fierce fighting is believed to be raging in the region, where an “emergency situation regime” is in place. Russian media cited the country’s authorities on Wednesday as saying five civilians had been killed.
The Russian defense ministry said on Thursday that Ukrainian armored vehicles were destroyed in a border area of Kursk.
The Ukrainian military has yet to make any official announcements on the attack. But a Ukrainian lawmaker disclosed in a social media post on Wednesday that the Ukrainian military had captured the town of Sudzha, site of a major gas distribution station for Europe.
Analysts regard the incursion believed to have been conducted by the Ukrainian military as rare. The maneuver follows similar cross-border raids into western Russia by members of Russian volunteer soldier groups that side with Ukraine.