Russians Say They 'Thwart' Advance of Ukrainians Incursion in Kursk

Aug. 11—According to the Russian Defense Ministry update issued Aug. 10 in Moscow, Russian forces “thwarted" the attempts of Ukrainian invasion forces to reach deeper into Russia's Kursk region. THe ministry stated that Russian forces had "thwarted the attempts of the enemy’s mobile groups to get to the depth of the Russian territory near Ivashkovskoye, Malaya Loknya, and Olgovka.” Olgovka is 30 km to the northwest of Sudzha, which is an indication of how deeply Ukrainian forces have penetrated into the Kursk region—and also that the Ukrainians have not yet been driven back across the border. “Fire damage was inflicted on the AFU manpower and hardware near Nikolayevo-Daryino, Gusevo, Lyubimovka, Zeleniy Shliyakh, and Sverdlikovo,” the update adds. These places appear to be villages within 10-15 km of Sudzha.

Over the previous 24 hours, it says, Ukrainian losses have amounted to 175 troops and 36 pieces of hardware, including among other things, 10 tanks. Since Aug. 6, the ministry claims, Ukrainian losses amounted to up to 1,120 Ukrainian troops. Sources had reported that there were only 1,000 Ukrainian military personnel involved, but the Ukrainians and other sources now say that the force is of "several thousands," as it has been reinforced.

But the Russians seem to be taking their hits, too. Reports were circulating yesterday—such one from Avia.pro, naming Russian military correspondent Alexander Kotenok as the source—that a serious attack hit a Russian military convoy in the Rylsky district of the Kursk region, which was carried out using HIMARS missile systems. According to him, Ukrainian forces attacked the convoy at night, which led to significant "consequences" , captured on video distributed on social networks. The exact number of dead and injured is not known, but the "consequences" are said to be very serious.

Avia.pro cited another Russian military correspondent, Mikhail Zvinchuk, who reports that Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups are actively distracting Russian checkpoints and attempting to push further into Russian territory. He said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have begun to build fortifications in the Kursk region, which may indicate plans for a long-term occupation of the region. According to him, the combat potential of the Ukrainian troops is far from being exhausted, and in the near future we can expect the second and third echelons to enter the battle.

In response to this situation, Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee has imposed counterterrorism measures in the Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions to ensure the safety of people and stop terrorist attacks by the Kiev regime. The statement issued by the committee reported that Federal Security Service (FSB) chief Alexander Bortnikov decided to impose the measures, “In order to ensure the safety of citizens and stop the threat of terrorist acts that could be carried out by the enemy’s sabotage and reconnaissance formations….” This is apparently the largest ever counterterrorism operation in Russia’s history, affecting 4 million people.