After two and a half years of fighting on its own territory, Ukrainian forces continue to advance into Russian territory, with the surprise invasion of the Kursk region entering its third week.
Beginning in the early hours of August 6, Ukraine quickly broke through understrengthened border defenses and captured dozens of Russian cities and towns, adding a new dimension to the war that had been escalating into a series of hard-fought block-by-block battles in eastern Ukrainian cities.
Source: Critical Threats Project, Institute for the Study of War, American Enterprise Institute
The Kursk invasion of Ukraine marked one of the biggest territorial changes since the first months of the war, when Russia advanced rapidly toward Ukraine’s major cities. The head of the Ukrainian military, General Oleksandr Sirsky, claimed that Ukraine controlled about 490 square miles of Russian territory.
If confirmed, it would be roughly the same amount of land Russian forces seized in Ukraine from January to July this year, according to the Institute for War Studies, a Washington-based think tank.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the goal was to create a “buffer zone” along the Russian border. He gave no details on how large an area the troops would occupy.
This week, Ukraine destroyed a bridge across the Seymour River, which military analysts say could trap Russian troops between the river and the Ukrainian border.
Source: Critical Threats Project, American Enterprise Institute’s Institute for the Study of War (Claimed Scope of the Ukraine Invasion)
At least three bridges were damaged, The Times was able to independently confirm using satellite photos and video posted to social media.
It is unclear how many Russian troops are in the area, but satellite imagery from commercial satellite company Planet Labs shows that Russia has built a temporary pontoon bridge to allow vehicles to continue crossing the river. It was visible on August 17, just east of the village of Glushkovo, with vehicle tracks visible nearby. Another bridge was visible further along the river, just north of Glushkovo, on August 21.
On Wednesday, Ukraine released video showing U.S.-supplied weapons attacking a Russian pontoon bridge in Kursk.
According to photographs verified by the Institute of War Studies, the Ukrainian advance has slowed since the beginning of the invasion but continues to advance.
Satellite images from Planet Labs show that Russia has built new defensive fortifications about 20 miles from the Ukrainian positions at Kursk near the E38 highway. The fortifications feature trenches from which troops can fire and anti-tank ditches like the one shown below.
The Ukrainian military is gaining ground in Russia, but losing ground at home. The Russian offensive is gaining momentum in eastern Ukraine.
The Russians are less than ten miles from Pokrovsk, within artillery range of a city whose population before the war was about 40,000 and a major transportation hub. To the northeast, they are at the gates of Toretsk, and according to images verified by the Institute of War Studies, they control most of Nizhny Novgorod.
Military analysts say one of Ukraine’s goals in the Kursk invasion was to divert Russian forces from eastern Ukraine to fight at Kursk, but the Kremlin has resisted so far. Instead, it has primarily brought in reinforcements from elsewhere in Russia, prioritizing Ukraine’s military objectives over a swift response to a foreign invasion.
