Third day of Russian border breach in Kursk region: Clashes near Korenevo and Sudzha

Contents

• Sudzha, Korenevo. Where fighting is ongoing (maps)
• Russians report constant shelling in Kursk region
• Russian defense ministry's reaction and Zelenskyy's office comments
• Background

Sudzha, Korenevo. Where fighting is ongoing (maps)

The Russian media Agentstvo reports that the territory allegedly occupied by Ukrainian forces already covers 350 square kilometers. The Institute for the Study of War has created a map of the fighting in the region, which shows which settlements are in question.

Based on geolocated footage and reports from insider sources, ISW analysts assume that the Ukrainian military has allegedly occupied 11 settlements, including:

• Nikolaevo-Darino (1.5 kilometers north of the border with the Sumy region);
• Darino (3 kilometers north of the border with the Sumy region);
• Sverdlikovo (east of the Nikolaevo-Darino-Darino area).

Besides, the Ukrainian forces are reportedly operating within Lyubimovka (8 kilometers north of the border with the Sumy region) and are trying to advance along the 38K-030 road Sudzha-Korenevo, already 10 kilometers from the state border.

Photo: map of battles in the Kursk region from ISW analysts (understandingwar.org)

Journalists of Radio Liberty also published a map of the battles in the Kursk region, but it is interactive. Among other places, the map shows the following settlements affected by fighting: Malaya Loknya, Kazachya Loknya, Kruglenkoe, Ivnitsya.

Meanwhile, the Russian war propagandists write about “the advance of Ukrainian forces both to the northwest and southeast along the highway.” Analysts say that “the Ukrainian Armed Forces captured more than 40 Russian soldiers at the Sudzha checkpoint."

The Rybar Telegram channel, which is close to the Russian Ministry of Defense, claims that “Ukrainian formations have occupied the western half of Sudzha,” taken control of the roads around the city, and that there are small arms battles in the city itself, including on the eastern outskirts. The propaganda outlet Readovka also reports on fighting in Kazachya Loknya, north of Sudzha.

The Russian opposition outlet Medusa, citing one of the pro-war channels critical of the Russian defense ministry, writes that “the Ukrainian Armed Forces have approached Korenevo.” Rybar also reports on fighting on the outskirts of the village. Korenevo is located 30 kilometers from the border with Ukraine, with a population of about 5,000 people.

Russians report constant shelling in Kursk region

Russian Telegram channels report on ongoing air attacks on the region. At night, air raid alerts were announced several times in the region. Although the local authorities do not comment on the information about the so-called advance of Ukrainian forces, the acting governor of the Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, provided dry statistics on the shelling. According to him, overnight air defense shot down 5 missiles and 6 drones over the region.

Meanwhile, Russians say that they cannot contact the 112, a number for calling emergency services. This number is used to report emergencies and to get advice on how to behave in an emergency. The Russian media Astra writes that relatives of residents in the Kursk region say that the line is either down or intermittent.

Russian defense ministry's reaction and Zelenskyy's office comments

The Russian defense ministry assures Russians that “the enemy has not been allowed to advance.” However, they admit that fighting continues in the Sudzhansky and Korenevsky districts. They say that Russian troops are stopping the “attempts of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to break through in the Kursk direction.” They also admit to conducting air strikes in the Sumy region.

The office of the president of Ukraine explains that the reason for any escalation and shelling, including on the territory of Russia - the Kursk and Belgorod regions, is the fact of unconditional Russian aggression.

“And the author of the concept of 'self-destruction of Russia' is also well known: the subject Putin. The conclusions are absolutely obvious... Russia has always believed that the prohibitive norms of law do not apply to it, and therefore it can attack the territories of neighboring countries with impunity and hypocritically demand... inviolability of its territories. But war has its own rules, and the aggressor always reaps the appropriate rewards,” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the OP, wrote on his Telegram channel.

Background

On August 6, 2024, Russian media and local authorities announced an attempt to break through the border in the Sudzhansky and Korenevsky districts of the Kursk region of Russia, which borders Ukraine's Sumy region. The Sudzhansky district has several facilities important to Russia, including Gazprom's gas metering station that ensures the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, as well as a 330 kV substation, a TV tower, and supply routes for equipment.

It was immediately apparent that Putin's regime had not agreed on how to tell the Russians what was happening. While local governor Alexei Smirnov and Russian military reporters wrote about the fighting from the very beginning, the Russian ministry of defense and FSB claimed that the attempts to break through had been “repelled.” The evacuation of locals from the combat zones was already underway.

It was only a day later that the Russian leader decided to react. He called the events in the Kursk region a “large-scale provocation” and, as expected, accused Ukraine. A state of emergency is currently in effect in the region.

Ukraine has not officially confirmed the operation in the Kursk region. The only statement was from the head of the Center for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, who said on the first day of the border breach that Russia's claims about controlling the border were untrue.

But there were comments from Ukrainian partners. European Commissioner for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Peter Stano said that Ukraine had a legitimate right to defend itself in the war with Russia, including by striking the aggressor on its territory.

The US says that it had no prior knowledge of the military operation in Russia's Kursk region, but adds that the decision on how Ukraine conducts its operations is up to Ukraine.

Sources: ISW review, articles by Radio Liberty, Medusa, and Agentstvo, Readovka Telegram channel, Astra, statements by Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the head of the Presidential Administration, acting governor of Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, and other open sources.