Ukraine’s forces may be inching to within 50 miles of a major Russian city, a new map shows, as Vladimir Putin reels from Kyiv’s surprise incursion across the border.
Volodymyr Zelensky‘s army launched the ongoing Ukrainian cross-border operation last week, seen as a bold attempt to pull Russian forces away from eastern Ukraine and provide relief for its beleaguered defences.
A new map by The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) shows reports of Ukrainian advances across its border with Russia into the Kursk Oblast region including charges to the west of Semenovka, a small village in the Konyshyovsky District and west of Cherkasskoe Porechnoe, which is less than 50 miles from Kursk.
The city, which has a population of around 470,000 as of 2022, is the administrative centre for the Kursk Oblask region.
The shaded blue area on the ISW’s map depicts territory that Russian sources claim is occupied by Ukraine where there is no observed contradictory evidence to disprove it, the think tank said.
According to the graphic, Russian sources claimed on August 10 that Moscow’s forces “captured Makhnovka and Zamostye, while geolocated footage posted on August 10 indicates that Ukrainian forces previously operated in Makhnovka”, though the ISW wasn’t currently able to confirm a Ukrainian presence.
The think tank also said it had conflicting reports from sources about Plekhovo, with one saying Kyiv’s troops had been forced to retreat on August 10, while another said they had captured it that day.
Ukraine is believed to have gathered thousands of soldiers — some Western analysts estimate up to 12,000 — on the border in recent weeks without alerting the Kremlin.
Russian officials said about 121,000 people have been evacuated from Kursk or have escaped the areas affected by fighting on their own.
Ukraine’s ambitious operation – the largest attack on Russia since World War II – caused shockwaves in the Kremlin and compelled Russian President Vladimir Putin to convene a meeting Monday with his top defence officials.
During the tense televised meeting, Putin vowed to fight back, telling officials: “The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces are increasing dramatically for them, including among the most combat-ready units, units that the enemy is transferring to our border.”
“The enemy will certainly receive a worthy response, and all the goals facing us will, without a doubt, be achieved,” he added.
The Russian despot is now set to receive a request to impose a federal state of emergency on a second border region facing renewed attacks from Ukraine.
The Governor of Belgorod Oblast, which borders Ukraine‘s Kharkiv region and neighbours Kursk Oblast declared a regional state of emergency in the early hours of August 14 and confirmed he would file a request with Moscow to increase it to a state emergency.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said the cross-border operation was aimed at protecting Ukrainian land from long-range strikes launched from Kursk.
Mr Tykhyi said Russia had launched more than 2,000 strikes from the Kursk region in recent months using anti-aircraft missiles, artillery, mortars, drones, 255 glide bombs, and more than 100 missiles.
