As Moscow’s troops faced their sixth day of intense fighting against Kyiv’s largest incursion into Russian territory since the war began, southwestern Russia remained vulnerable until reinforcements arrived.
In response to the severity of the Ukrainian advance, Russia imposed a comprehensive security regime in three border regions on Saturday, and Belarus, a close ally of Moscow, increased its troop presence at its border with Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of violating its airspace.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskiy revealed that he had discussed the operation with top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi and reaffirmed his commitment to restoring justice following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
“Today, I received several reports from Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi about the front lines and our efforts to push the war onto the aggressor’s territory,” Zelenskiy stated on the evening of August 10. “Ukraine is demonstrating that it can restore justice and apply the necessary pressure on the aggressor.”
On Sunday, Russia’s defense ministry reported that it had destroyed 14 Ukrainian drones and four Tochka-U tactical ballistic missiles overnight in the Kursk region, as well as 18 drones in other Russian areas.
Russian President Vladimir Putin labeled the Ukrainian attack as a ‘major provocation’ in a statement last week.
Russian military bloggers noted that the situation had stabilized after reinforcements arrived but remarked that Ukraine was quickly amassing additional forces. They reported that fighting had occurred as deep as 20 km (12 miles) inside the Kursk region, raising questions about how Ukraine managed to breach the area so easily.
Acting Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov has instructed local authorities to accelerate the evacuation of civilians from at-risk areas. On Saturday, Russia’s TASS state news agency reported that over 76,000 people had been evacuated.
Russian Human Rights Commissioner Tatyana Moskalkova has appealed to the United Nations to condemn Ukraine’s actions in Kursk. In a Telegram post, Moskalkova requested that the U.N. Human Rights Commissioner “take measures to prevent severe mass violations of human rights.”
