Ukraine War Watch Thread

[Time_Traveller]

Kursk incursion: How significant is Ukraine's advance into Russian territory?

Thursday 8 August 2024 16:50, UK



Around 1,000 Ukrainian troops have penetrated several miles into Russia's Kursk region in an ongoing incursion that appears to have caught the Russian military by surprise.

Much of the picture remains unclear as Ukraine seeks to maintain operational security, but experts say the offensive appears to have broken through at least two sets of Russian defensive lines and a stronghold in the Kursk region.

Messaging from the Kremlin has been contradictory, seeking on the one hand to present the developments as significant while at the same time insisting that the situation is under control.

Where is the Ukrainian incursion and how far have the troops got into Russian territory?

Russian forces have been battling Ukrainian troops for three days now after they smashed through the Russian border in the Kursk region.

https://news.sky.com/story/kursk-incurs ... y-13193173

[Time_Traveller]

Kursk incursion: How significant is Ukraine's advance into Russian territory?

Thursday 8 August 2024 16:50, UK



Around 1,000 Ukrainian troops have penetrated several miles into Russia's Kursk region in an ongoing incursion that appears to have caught the Russian military by surprise.

Much of the picture remains unclear as Ukraine seeks to maintain operational security, but experts say the offensive appears to have broken through at least two sets of Russian defensive lines and a stronghold in the Kursk region.

Messaging from the Kremlin has been contradictory, seeking on the one hand to present the developments as significant while at the same time insisting that the situation is under control.

Where is the Ukrainian incursion and how far have the troops got into Russian territory?

Russian forces have been battling Ukrainian troops for three days now after they smashed through the Russian border in the Kursk region.

https://news.sky.com/story/kursk-incurs ... y-13193173

More on this:-

Russia struggles to repel Ukraine's deep Kursk incursion

9 August 2024, 09:52 BST

Russia's military has said it is "continuing to repel" a Ukrainian cross-border incursion into the western Kursk region - a surprise attack now in its fourth day.

The Russian defence ministry said Ukraine lost more than 280 military personnel in the past 24 hours - a claim that has not been independently verified.

Reports suggest that Ukrainian troops are operating more than 10km (six miles) inside Russia - the deepest cross-border advance by Kyiv since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Ukraine has not openly admitted the incursion, but President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Moscow must "feel" the consequences for its invasion.

Meanwhile, 13 people have been killed and at least 43 injured in a Russian strike on a shopping centre in the Ukrainian town of Kostiantynivka, close to the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukrainian emergency officials say.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cr7rn98l8kjo

[weatheriscool]

Russia declares an emergency in Kursk, under attack by Ukraine. 12 killed in Russian strike on mall

Source: AP

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia declared a “federal-level” emergency in the Kursk region following a large-scale incursion from Ukraine and sent reinforcements there on Friday, four days after hundreds of Ukrainian troops poured across the border in what appeared to be Kyiv’s biggest attack on Russian soil since the war began.

Meanwhile, a Russian plane-launched missile slammed into a Ukrainian shopping mall in the middle of the day, killing at least 12 people and wounding 44 others, authorities said.

The mall in Kostiantynivka, in the eastern Donetsk region, is located in the town’s residential area. Thick black smoke rose above it after the strike.

“This is another targeted attack on a crowded place, another act of terror by the Russians,” Donetsk regional head Vadym Filashkin said in a Telegram post.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukrai ... 87a106e17a

[ibm9000]

Krinky: Sebastopol was about to fall...

Let's see next week and what casualties UKR takes pulling back.

[weatheriscool]

It would be funny if Ukraine defeated russia and marched their military into moscow.

[firestar464]

Impossible though. I suppose that's why it's funny.

[Time_Traveller]

Ukraine aims to ‘destabilise Russia’ with thousands of troops in Kursk incursion

Sun 11 Aug 2024 11.58 BST

Thousands of Ukrainian troops are taking part in an incursion aiming to destabilise Russia by showing up the country’s weaknesses, a top official from Ukraine has said as the assault entered its sixth day.

“We are on the offensive. The aim is to stretch the positions of the enemy, to inflict maximum losses and to destabilise the situation in Russia as they are unable to protect their own border,” the security official said on condition of anonymity.

Russia’s army had said about 1,000 Ukrainian troops were deployed in the cross-border incursion that began on Tuesday and appeared to catch the Kremlin off guard, allowing Ukraine’s forces to penetrate Russian defensive lines.

Asked whether the 1,000 figure was correct, the official said: “It is a lot more … Thousands.”

After days of official silence, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, acknowledged the offensive for the first time on Saturday, saying that Kyiv was “pushing the war into the aggressor’s territory”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/artic ... -incursion

[Time_Traveller]

Russia has used vacuum bomb, says Ukraine envoy
17:44

Russia used a banned thermobaric weapon during fighting in Ukraine on Monday, the Ukrainian ambassador to the US told American lawmakers in a briefing.

"They used the vacuum bomb today, which is actually prohibited by the Geneva convention," Oksana Markarova told reporters after emerging from the congressional briefing. This claim has not been verified by the BBC.

Thermobaric weapons do not use conventional ammunition.

They are instead filled with a high-pressure explosive, and suck in oxygen from the surrounding environment to generate an extremely powerful explosion and pressure wave.

...

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-60542877

More on this:-

Russia 'uses vacuum bomb capable of vaporising humans' in response to Ukraine's Kursk attack

Saturday 10 August 2024 15:48, UK



Russia says it has used a thermobaric bomb against Ukrainian forces as it announced a "counter-terrorism" operation to retaliate against Ukraine's shock incursion into Kursk.

The Russian defence ministry said fighting was continuing in the western Kursk region following Ukraine's unprecedented attack on its territory earlier this week.

The Russian army has conducted airstrikes against Ukrainian forces, including using a thermobaric bomb, also known as a vacuum bomb.

The pressure from the bomb's extra hot blast is capable of vaporising human bodies.

It is not the first time Moscow is reported to have deployed such weapons, as Ukrainian officials alleged they were being used in the invasion just weeks after it began in February 2022.

https://news.sky.com/story/russia-uses- ... k-13194590

[firestar464]

Am I misunderstanding something, or did they just use it on their own territory??? This is wild.

I'm also wondering why the US isn't worried that Russia's gonna drop a nuke or something. Does the Pentagon know something we don't?

[Vakanai]

Russia has used vacuum bomb, says Ukraine envoy
17:44

Russia used a banned thermobaric weapon during fighting in Ukraine on Monday, the Ukrainian ambassador to the US told American lawmakers in a briefing.

"They used the vacuum bomb today, which is actually prohibited by the Geneva convention," Oksana Markarova told reporters after emerging from the congressional briefing. This claim has not been verified by the BBC.

Thermobaric weapons do not use conventional ammunition.

They are instead filled with a high-pressure explosive, and suck in oxygen from the surrounding environment to generate an extremely powerful explosion and pressure wave.

...

https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-60542877

More on this:-

Russia 'uses vacuum bomb capable of vaporising humans' in response to Ukraine's Kursk attack

Saturday 10 August 2024 15:48, UK



Russia says it has used a thermobaric bomb against Ukrainian forces as it announced a "counter-terrorism" operation to retaliate against Ukraine's shock incursion into Kursk.

The Russian defence ministry said fighting was continuing in the western Kursk region following Ukraine's unprecedented attack on its territory earlier this week.

The Russian army has conducted airstrikes against Ukrainian forces, including using a thermobaric bomb, also known as a vacuum bomb.

The pressure from the bomb's extra hot blast is capable of vaporising human bodies.

It is not the first time Moscow is reported to have deployed such weapons, as Ukrainian officials alleged they were being used in the invasion just weeks after it began in February 2022.

https://news.sky.com/story/russia-uses- ... k-13194590

Oh my god, "counter-terrorism" operation? That's rich. Meanwhile Russia continues to prove there's no vile depths it won't gladly sink to under mass-murderer Putin.

[Time_Traveller]

Ukrainian troops now up to 30km inside Russia, Moscow says

11 August 2024, 14:59 BST



Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 30km inside Russia, in what has become the the deepest and most significant incursion since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Russia's defence ministry said its forces had engaged Ukrainian troops near the villages of Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez, as the offensive in the Kursk region entered a sixth day.

Foreign ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Kyiv of "intimidating the peaceful population of Russia".

Overnight, President Volodymyr Zelensky directly acknowledged the attack for the first time, saying Ukraine was pushing the war to "the aggressor's territory".

"Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor," Mr Zelensky told the country in his nightly address from Kyiv.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crkm08rv5m0o

[weatheriscool]

Ukraine Offers To Stop Incursion If Russia Accepts "Just Peace"

Source: NDTV

Kyiv: Ukraine said Tuesday it would not hold on to Russian territory captured in its surprise cross-border incursion and offered to stop raids if Moscow agreed a "just peace".

Foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy on Tuesday said Kyiv was not interested in "taking over" Russian territory and defended Ukraine's actions as "absolutely legitimate".

"The sooner Russia agrees to restore a just peace... the sooner the raids by the Ukrainian defences forces into Russia will stop," he told reporters.

Read more: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/ukraine ... ce-6330383

[weatheriscool]

Biden calls Ukraine incursion 'a real dilemma for Putin'

Source: Reuters

August 13, 2024 7:13 PM EDT Updated an hour ago

NEW ORLEANS, Aug 13 (Reuters) - Ukraine's military incursion into Russia has "created a real dilemma" for Russian President Vladimir Putin, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday, adding that U.S. officials are in constant touch with the Ukrainians about the move.

About 1,000 Ukrainian troops rammed through the Russian border in the early hours of Aug. 6 with tanks and armored vehicles. A U.S. official said late on Tuesday that the goal of Ukraine's Kursk incursion appears to be to force Russia to pull troops out of Ukraine to defend Russian territory against the cross-border assault.

Answering questions from reporters upon arrival in New Orleans, Biden said he has been briefed every four to five hours for the last six to eight days on Ukraine's action. "It's creating a real dilemma for Putin," he said in his first substantive comments about the operation, which appeared to have caught the Russians off guard. The U.S. has provided billions of dollars of weaponry to Ukraine intended largely for defensive purposes, as Ukraine tries to repel the Russian invasion launched in February 2022.

Biden in May authorized Kyiv to launch U.S.-supplied weapons at military targets inside Russia that are supporting an offensive against the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The White House said Ukraine did not provide advance notice of its incursion, which took place in the Kursk region of Russia. Russian forces on Tuesday struck back at Ukrainian troops with missiles, drones and airstrikes.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/bi ... 024-08-13/

[ibm9000]

One thing is true, Ukraine will not hold on to that territory.
If UKR is not negotiating because RU holds a good chunk of UKR, is RU going to negotiate with that area raided?
Is Tykhy delusional or talking to delusional people?

One thousand troops, or 3.000, don't "control" 1.000 sqkm nor that front line. It is a bubble and RU seems to be acting Soviet style, a lot of troops to contain and then to squash the whole salient; no risky, fast (patrols) attacks.

One thing I have noticed is that UKR seems to be using every kind of vehicle it has. Not enough transport to spare in order to rationalize? Bits and ends, remnants from every unit, platoons, companies maybe? Not a good idea from a logistics point of view, even less to defend.
All those UKR lossess there, killing RU conscripts (hearts & minds?), instead of defending Toretsk?

[Time_Traveller]

Ukraine-Russia war latest: British tanks believed to have been used in Kursk as 20,000 people evacuated

22 minutes ago

British tanks are believed to have been used by Ukrainian troops in their cross-border assault into Russia just over a week ago, reports suggest.

A source told Sky News British Challenger 2 tanks were used during the shock Ukrainian incursion in what would be the first time they have been rolled out on Russian territory.

The UK agreed to give Ukraine 14 of its Challenger 2 tanks in January 2023 in a move that prompted Germany and the United States to follow suit with their versions.

Ukraine’s powerful 82nd Air Assault Brigade has been operating the British tanks since last year and is confirmed to have been taking part in the Kursk offensive.

The Ministry of Defence told The Independent it would not comment on operational matters but reiteritaed Ukraine had the right to self defence under international law.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 96618.html

[Time_Traveller]

Ukraine plans ‘buffer zone’ inside Russia’s Kursk region, says Kyiv colonel

13 hours ago

Ukrainian forces are planning to press deeper into Russia as part of their incursion into Kursk, with thousands more ready to enter the fray, a senior Ukrainian colonel has told The Independent.

The colonel, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorised to speak publicly, said they were planning to create a “buffer zone” in Russia, one that mirrors the area carved out of the nearby Ukrainian region of Kharkiv by Moscow’s troops in May.

​​He also argued that Ukrainians want to hold onto the territory they have taken for use as a bargaining chip in any future peace negotiations.

Some 8000 Ukrainian military personnel are already in Russia, he said, where the commander in chief of Kyiv’s forces General Oleksary Syrskyi claims his men hold around 1000 square kilometres (400 square miles) of land after launching the historic cross-border assault just over a week ago.

“Putin declared earlier this year that he wanted to create a grey zone open to the Ukrainian side of the frontier and he has been bombing the civilian population to create a buffer zone that is uninhabitable,” the colonel said.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 96297.html

[firestar464]

Imagine if they set up an occupation administration.

[ibm9000]

Better to keep the administration of Toretsk?

[Time_Traveller]

Ukraine sets up military office inside Russia

25 minutes ago

Ukraine has set up a military administrative office in Russia's Kursk region, where its surprise incursion into Russian territory continues, according to its top military commander.

Gen Oleksandr Syrsky said the office would "maintain law and order" and "meet the immediate needs" of the population in the area.

In a video posted on social media, Gen Syrsky is seen telling a meeting chaired by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that the office has been created "on the territories controlled by Ukraine".

Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov has said Moscow will send reinforcements to "safeguard" the population in the region.

Ukraine also claimed to have made further gains in its incursion on Thursday.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c9qgwvjj9d1o

[Powers]

Imagine if they set up an occupation administration.

Better to keep the administration of Toretsk?

Lol.