According to Andri Kovalenko, a member of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, the Russians “were attacked from several sides, which surprised them.” The main objective is to take control of the Kursk road, northeast of the small town of Soudja.
The Ukrainian army has not yet communicated about the offensive at this stage.
For its part, the Russian army indicated that the enemy had launched a “counterattack” in order to stop the advance of Russian troops in the Kursk area around 9:00 a.m. (7:00 a.m. BST). According to the Russian army, “the assault group of the Ukrainian army was defeated by artillery and aviation.” “The operation to destroy units of the Ukrainian forces continues,” she added.
The Telegram channel Mash, known to be close to the Russian authorities, for its part assured that “the men of the Ukrainian army move in small groups. The total number of their troops amounts to 2,000”.
According to Russian military bloggers, Ukrainian forces are trying to take control of Berdine, a small town located about 20 kilometers from the border between Ukraine and Russia.
Volodymyr Zelensky says Trump’s ‘unpredictability’ can help end war in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that the Russians were suffering heavy losses in Kursk.
Since August 2024, Ukraine has occupied several hundred square kilometers of the Russian region of Kursk, on the border, controlling in particular the small town of Soudja.
This new offensive in the Russian region of Kursk by the Ukrainian army comes two weeks before the return to the White House of Donald Trump, who called for an “immediate” ceasefire and promised to obtain a peace agreement to stop “the carnage”, without however ever detailing his plan.
He also said he was opposed to Ukrainian strikes against Russian territory with American ATACMS missiles, a red line for Moscow.
This offensive also comes five months after a first successful cross-border assault which took Russian forces by surprise, in particular the border guards, a failure for President Vladimir Putin who has praised a “more sovereign” Russia since the outbreak of the assault. his men against Ukraine in February 2022.
