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About 2,000 people in 28 settlements in Russia's Kursk Oblast are under the control of the Ukrainian army, and the Ukrainian crisis has become more complicated.

On the 12th local time, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting on the security situation in Kursk Oblast. Kursk Oblast Acting Governor Smirnov reported to Putin on the situation in Kursk, saying that currently, a total of 28 settlements and about 2,000 people in Kursk Oblast are under the control of the Ukrainian army, and a total of 121,000 people have been evacuated from the border area.

(Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a meeting on the security situation in Kursk Oblast.)

At the meeting, Putin said that the most urgent and important thing in Kursk Oblast is that the Ministry of Defense must immediately drive the Ukrainian army out of Russian territory. Putin said that Ukraine is trying to gain more bargaining chips for negotiations by launching an offensive against Kursk Oblast. Although the Ukrainian government launched provocative actions in Kursk Oblast, the Russian army is still advancing in an orderly manner along the entire combat contact line.

At present, the Russian army has increased its patrols in the area to avoid further attacks by the Ukrainian army, and continues to send reinforcements to Kursk.

Russia releases video of strikes against Ukrainian troops in Kursk

Since the 6th of this month, the Ukrainian army has continued to launch attacks on Kursk Oblast, a Russian border state bordering Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense said on the 11th that the Russian army is attacking the Ukrainian army's active forces in the border area of ​​Kursk Oblast and released a combat video.

Smirnov said that in the early morning of the 11th local time, a missile launched by the Ukrainian army at the province was destroyed, and the missile fragments hit a residential building in Kursk, injuring more than a dozen people.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that air defense forces intercepted 14 Ukrainian drones and four Tochka-U tactical missiles, which were used by the Ukrainian army to attack neighborhoods in Kursk, with fragments of one missile landing in the courtyard of a high-rise residential building.

Kursk Mayor Igor Kuchak said residents of the attacked residential buildings were evacuated to temporary accommodation and air raid warnings had covered the entire city.

(Recent pictures of Kursk Oblast. Photo/CCTV)

Kursk citizens recalled the scene at the time: "The missile flew right over my head, and then there was a strong flash, and the whole sky was lit up by something like a flame. The fire was right over my head, and everything happened very quickly. It was the first time I saw such a scene in my life."

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on August 11 that the Russian army successfully prevented the Ukrainian army from further advancing into Kursk Oblast that day. The Russian Ministry of Defense released a video of the Russian army using "Lancet" cruise missiles to destroy Ukrainian tanks in Kursk Oblast. The Russian Army Aviation Ka-52 helicopter group also carried out strikes on the Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel, vehicles and military equipment assembly areas in the border area of ​​Kursk Oblast.

Local border areas urge residents to evacuate voluntarily

The 12th was the 7th day since the Ukrainian army crossed the border into the Russian border state of Kursk. According to information disclosed by Russian media, the Ukrainian army's offensive has not been stopped.

On the morning of the same day, a video released by the Russian Ministry of Defense showed that Russian engineers were conducting mine clearance operations in the border area of ​​Kursk Oblast. According to the information released by the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Russian army repelled seven rounds of attacks by the Ukrainian army in Kursk Oblast in the past day, killing and wounding 260 Ukrainian soldiers and destroying 31 weapons and equipment including three tanks.

At noon on the same day, the Kursk Oblast Operations Command decided to evacuate residents from the border district of Bjelovsky. According to the Russian media "Russian Business Consulting", the district governor Volobuev said that the situation was "very tense" and urged residents to evacuate voluntarily. A day earlier, Smirnov said that a Ukrainian sabotage team entered the district on the 10th, but Russian troops quickly stabilized the situation. Belgorod Oblast, a border province adjacent to Kursk Oblast, also began to evacuate residents of the border area Krasnoyarsk District at noon on the 12th.

In addition, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported in its battle report on the 12th that the Russian army destroyed several armored vehicles including the US-made Abrams tanks and hit Ukrainian anti-artillery radars, ammunition depots, electronic warfare base stations and other targets. The Russian air defense system intercepted Ukrainian air bombs, rockets, drones and other targets.

The Ukrainian army may have deployed nearly a thousand troops and heavy equipment this time

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky mentioned the Ukrainian military operations in Kursk for the first time in a video speech on the evening of the 10th. He said that he received several reports from Alexander Sersky, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, on the front-line battles and the Ukrainian side's actions to advance the front line into Russian territory that day, and that "Ukraine is proving that it is indeed capable of exerting the necessary pressure... (on Russia)".

In his speech, Zelensky also praised the Ukrainian army's combat brigades on the "front line" such as Sumy Oblast, which borders Kursk.

This was also seen by Ukrainian media as the first time that the Ukrainian president confirmed that the Ukrainian army had carried out military operations in Russia. According to multiple sources, the Ukrainian army may have deployed nearly a thousand troops and heavy equipment this time.

Podolak, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidential office, mentioned in a recent TV program that any action taken by the Ukrainian army in the Russian border area may have a certain impact on Russian society, and will also increase pressure on the Kremlin and increase bargaining chips for future negotiations with Moscow.

Ukraine says it will continue offensive operations against Kursk

On August 12, local time, Zelensky said through social media that he convened a meeting of the Supreme Command that day. At the meeting, Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Sersky reported on the front-line defense operations and the Kursk operation.

Serski said at the meeting that the Ukrainian armed forces currently control about 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory. He pointed out that the Ukrainian army is continuing its offensive against Kursk, the battle is still going on, and the situation on the entire front is under the control of the Ukrainian army.

Zelensky instructed the Security Service of Ukraine and the Ministry of Internal Affairs to develop a clear strategic line on the return of prisoners of war, and asked the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to submit a list "so that permission can be obtained from partners to use long-range weapons to defend the territory."

In addition, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated in the battle report of the same day that as of 16:00 on the 12th, the Ukrainian army continued to fight with the Russian army in Kharkiv, Pokrovsk and other areas, and repelled multiple Russian attacks.

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Russia attacked, political solution to Ukrainian crisis becomes more complicated

Analysts pointed out that Ukraine wants to relieve pressure on other fronts through this action and gain more bargaining chips in negotiations with Russia, but this may lead to further escalation of the conflict between the two sides. With the United States and the West continuing to add fuel to the fire, the prospect of a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis has become more complicated.

On the 7th, Putin said that the Ukrainian armed forces' attack on Kursk Oblast was another "large-scale provocation". On the 9th, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations announced that it had raised the state of emergency in Kursk Oblast to "federal level". On the same day, the Russian National Anti-Terrorism Committee announced that it would implement an anti-terrorist action system in Kursk Oblast, Belgorod Oblast and Bryansk Oblast bordering Ukraine.

According to the website of the U.S. Forbes magazine, Ukraine has four mechanized brigades and one airborne assault brigade participating in the battle, with a theoretical total strength of 10,000 officers and soldiers and 600 armored vehicles. However, it is not clear whether all members of these brigades are involved in the attack or only individual troops are sent out.

In addition to ground clashes, Russia and Ukraine also exchanged air fire in the Russian border area. The Russian Ministry of Defense said that since the 6th, Russian air defense forces have shot down a large number of drones in Belgorod, Lipetsk, Kursk and other places near the Russian-Ukrainian border. The Ukrainian General Staff reported on the 9th that the Ukrainian army attacked an airport in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia that day, and a warehouse storing aviation-guided bombs and several aircraft near the airport were hit.

Analysts believe that since the full escalation of the Ukrainian crisis, Ukraine has repeatedly sent reconnaissance teams into the Russian mainland or used drones to harass the Russian border area, but has never taken large-scale ground operations against the Russian mainland. The Ukrainian army's raid on Kursk Oblast may have three purposes.

First, to relieve pressure from other directions on the front line. Russian military expert Alexi Leonkov believes that Ukraine hopes to relieve pressure on the Ukrainian army by launching an offensive in the direction of Kursk Oblast and pressuring the Russian army to withdraw its troops from other directions such as Donetsk.

Second, to increase bargaining chips. Igor Yushkov, chief analyst of the Russian National Energy Security Foundation, said that the Ukrainian army may target important energy facilities such as nuclear power plants and natural gas distribution stations in Kursk Oblast. The Russian National Guard has announced that it will increase security measures for the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant. An article on the website of the British magazine The Economist said that Ukraine's goal may be to establish a "buffer zone" in the border area as a bargaining chip for future negotiations.

Third, to win more support from the West. Some analysts believe that the United States will hold a general election this year, and there is uncertainty about the aid policy to Ukraine after the election. Germany's Bild newspaper quoted former NATO official Stephanie Babst as saying that Ukraine may hope to show the West its ability to put pressure on Russia through the raid, so as to win more military aid.

Alexey Chepa, deputy chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament), told Lenta.com on the 8th that the Ukrainian army's attack on Kursk Oblast would only delay the negotiations. Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said that the Ukrainian armed forces' attack on Kursk Oblast "increased the outside world's concerns about the escalation of the conflict" and the UN "hopes to see the situation gradually eased."

The Russian Ministry of Defense has reported several times in recent days that in the operation to block the Ukrainian army in Kursk Oblast, American-made "Stryker" armored vehicles, German-made "Marder" infantry fighting vehicles and other Western-aided equipment to Ukraine were destroyed.

At the end of May, the US government approved Ukraine to use US-made weapons to attack Russian territory. Shortly after the Ukrainian army launched a ground operation on Russian soil, John Kirby, the strategic communications coordinator of the US National Security Council, announced on the 9th that the US would provide Ukraine with a new batch of military aid worth a total of US$125 million, including Stinger missiles and high-mobility artillery rocket systems. Data updated on the US State Department website on the 9th showed that since February 2022, the US has provided Ukraine with more than US$55.4 billion in military aid.

Analysts pointed out that the Ukrainian crisis is still ongoing, and Ukraine's sudden attack on Russia's mainland shows that there is a risk of escalation of the conflict. At present, the international community needs to work together to promote the cooling of the situation, create conditions for Russia and Ukraine to restart peace talks, and accelerate the political settlement of the Ukrainian crisis, rather than adding fuel to the fire and constantly intensifying the conflict.

Xiaoxiang Morning News reporter Liang Tingting compiled CCTV and Xinhua News Agency

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