The leader of the Russian military claimed that their soldiers have seized an area in Russia covering 1,000 square kilometers after launching an attack on Russian territory for seven days starting on Monday, August 12, 2567. General Oleksandr Syrskiy, the chairman of the Ukrainian military commission, stated that their soldiers have taken control of an area within Russian territory measuring 1,000 square kilometers after their forces initiated a ground offensive across the border to confront Russia for the first time since the conflict between the two countries began in February 2565.
Syrskey mentioned that Ukraine will continue to carry out attacks in the Kurks region of Russia after commencing an offensive on Tuesday, August 6. Prior to this, on the same day, Vladimir Putin, the President of Russia, held a meeting with officials from the border region, as well as senior officials from the security services, government, and law enforcement agencies, and declared that they would drive the enemy out of Russian territory. Oleksiy Smyrnov, the governor of the western Kurks region of Russia, informed Putin that 28 villages in their region are now under Ukrainian control, and Ukrainian soldiers can advance into Russian territory for about 12 kilometers along the 40-kilometer border.
Smyrnov also revealed that over 180,000 people have been notified to evacuate, with 121,000 already displaced, and approximately 2,000 Russian citizens are in the area controlled by the Ukrainian military, whose fate remains unknown. Viacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the neighboring Belgorod region, stated that people residing in the Krasnoyarsk area are being relocated to safer locations following increased enemy movement near the border. Currently, about 11,000 people have been evacuated towards the presidential residence. Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the President of Ukraine, acknowledged for the first time on Saturday, August 10, that Ukrainian troops are attacking Russian territory, asserting that “Russia has taken the war to others, now it’s coming back home. Ukraine wants only peace, and we will make sure that peace is achieved.”
Some analysts believe that the attack on the Kurks region could be part of an effort to push Russia to withdraw its troops from the eastern shores of Ukraine, where they have been under continuous attack and pressure. However, others view this attack as posing a new danger to Ukraine itself. A source within the British military, who preferred to remain anonymous, informed the BBC that there is a risk that Russia may retaliate due to this attack and escalate its assaults on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure even further.