Photo: Sergei Supinsky Agence France-Presse Ukrainian pilots and other military personnel watch F16 fighter jets fly past during a ceremony to mark Ukrainian Air Force Day at an undisclosed location on August 4, 2024.
Agence France-Presse in Kiev
Published at 0:34 AM Updated at 0:59 AM
- Europe
The Ukrainian army continued its incursion into the Russian region of Kursk on Friday and launched “massive” drone attacks overnight on several other regions of Russia, including Lipetsk, nearly 300 km from the border, where a fire broke out at a military base.
The regional governor of Lipetsk, Igor Artamonov, declared a state of emergency after a “massive attack” by Ukrainian drones that he said left at least six people injured and damaged a power plant.
The Tass and Ria Novosti agencies, citing regional authorities, reported that a fire had broken out at a military air base in the Lipetsk region, without specifying the cause.
Russian air defense also shot down 29 Ukrainian drones in the border region of Belgorod, wrote Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov on Telegram, according to whom the attack caused material damage but no injuries.
In Sevastopol, on the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014, Governor Mikhail Razvojaev reported attacks by aerial and naval drones.
These nighttime attacks were launched at a time when Ukraine has been conducting a surprise offensive in the Kursk border region since Tuesday.
More than a thousand Ukrainian soldiers with around ten tanks and around twenty armoured vehicles entered the region on Tuesday, according to the Russian general staff, which said it was doing everything it could to repel them.
However, this contingent appears to have gained ground by catching Russian forces off guard, although kyiv has kept almost total silence on the operation.
“Feeling” the effects of war
“Russia has brought war to our country and should feel” its effects, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his speech Thursday night, without directly mentioning the incursion.
His adviser Mykhailo Podoliak also said the surprise offensive was a consequence of Russian “aggression” in Ukraine, without clearly attributing it to Kiev’s forces.
“Now, a large part of the international community considers Russia a legitimate target for operations of any type and with any weapons,” he added, while many Western countries have banned Ukraine from using the weapons they supply to strike Russian territory.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000The day before, on Ukrainian television, Mr. Podoliak had judged that, in order to obtain something from Moscow at “the negotiating table”, the conflict should not follow “the scenario” established by the Russians.
The United States, Kiev's main supporter, repeated on Thursday that it “firmly supports Ukraine's efforts to defend itself against Russian aggression”, without commenting on the details of the situation. The day before, Washington had indicated that it had questioned the Ukrainian authorities to understand the “objectives” of this incursion of unprecedented scale.
“The operation to destroy Ukrainian army formations is continuing,” the Russian Defense Ministry declared on Thursday, assuring that it was preventing them from “penetrating deeply” into the region.
Alarming picture
It published videos filmed by drones and showing, according to it, the destruction of Ukrainian soldiers and vehicles in the Kursk region.
While official Russian communication is intended to be reassuring – regional authorities still referring to a “stable and controlled” situation on Thursday – the picture painted by military experts is more alarming for Russia.
According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a research center based in the United States, Ukrainian troops have penetrated up to 35 km inside Russian territory.
According to several analysts, Ukrainian soldiers have reached Sudja, a Russian city of around 5,500 inhabitants located about ten kilometers from the border and which is home to a gas hub still supplying Europe via Ukraine.
Residents evacuated from this city have reported a difficult situation on site, according to images broadcast by the Russian LDPR party, which participates in the reception of displaced persons.
“The situation is bad… There is no communication” with those left behind, said Alexei, an ambulance driver from Sudja who is waiting to receive humanitarian aid.
Another man, also named Alexei, a volunteer, said the evacuees “feel abandoned.”
Telegram channels of Ukrainian military observers have broadcast unverified drone footage of what are said to be Russian soldiers surrendering.
On Wednesday, Vladimir Putin appeared visibly angry on Russian television, denouncing a “large-scale provocation” by Ukraine and accusing it of indiscriminately striking civilian buildings.
Although the extent of the Ukrainian military advance is unclear, the giant Gazprom assured on Thursday that it would continue to deliver its gas daily, as usual, via Sudja.
This gas then transits through Ukraine, notably to Slovakia and Hungary.
The authorities have declared a state of emergency in the Kursk region and stated that at least five civilians had died there and 66 had been injured, including nine children. Around 3,000 people have already been evacuated.