Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky, a spokesman for Ukraine’s military administration in Kursk, cited by the Kyiv Post, said on Wednesday that Russian forces had tried to flank Ukrainian army units but were successfully repelled.
“They tried to attack from the flanks, but they were stopped there,” Dmytrashkivsky said.
“The situation was stabilized, and today everything is under control. They are not successful.”
This marks a significant setback for Moscow, which had previously claimed to have retaken several villages in the region.
However, another Ukrainian official cited by the Kyiv Post, speaking anonymously, urged caution, saying that “the Russian operation in the Kursk region is still ongoing, so it is too early to say that it has failed completely.”
The Kursk region, located in western Russia, has seen fierce fighting since Ukraine launched a surprise offensive over a month ago, capturing swathes of land.
Civilian toll rises
As fighting continues, Ukrainian authorities report that Russian strikes have led to the deaths of 23 civilians since the end of August.
Dmytrashkivsky said that civilians are unable to leave the area but can move freely within it. “They can visit each other, eat there, unite somewhere, dig potatoes, now work in the garden,” he said.
He mentioned that civilians would only be able to leave for Russian-controlled territory if Ukraine and Russia “agree, through international organizations that deal with these issues, to open a green corridor under the supervision of observers.”
This week, Kyiv asked the UN to assess the situation in the area it controls in the Kursk region, which further infuriated Moscow.
Drone strikes in Russia
Ukrainian drones reportedly destroyed a Russian missile and artillery warehouse in the Tver region, northwest of Moscow. A Ukrainian security source confirmed the attack, saying that “an extremely powerful detonation” followed, engulfing an area of six kilometers. The warehouse contained missiles for Russian Iskander and Tochka-U systems.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has since reiterated his dedication to a “victory plan” to end the war.
He said: “There cannot be any alternative to peace, any freezing of the war, or any other manipulations that will simply move the Russian aggression to another stage. We need reliable and lasting security for Ukraine, and therefore for the whole of Europe.”
