European Union foreign policy head Josep Borrell and Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv, December 1, 2023

Wednesday’s Coverage: Kyiv’s Forces Up To 22 Miles Inside Russia’s Kursk Region

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 2003 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has travelled to the border area in the Sumy region in the north of the country.

Zelenskiy met commander-in-chief, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, in the area where Ukraine launched its cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

Special attention was given to the coordination between the military, police, and the State Emergency Service in the border area, particularly in organizing humanitarian convoys to designated areas of the Kursk region….

Since the start of the Kursk operation there has been less shelling and fewer civilian casualties in the Sumy region.

Ukrainian soldiers captured the village of Krasno-Oktyabrskoye, next to the Seym River, where they have destroyed destroyed three bridges and two pontoon crossings since Friday.

The attacks could cut out thousands of Russian soldiers south of the river.

UPDATE 1951 GMT:

Ukraine’s State security service SBU has claimed responsibility for the drone strike against the Marinovka airbase in the Volgograd region deep inside Russia (see Original Entry).

Around 30 Su-34 and Su-35 fighter jets are hosted at the base. They carry out regular attacks on Ukrainian positions on the frontline about 280 miles away.

It is unclear how many jets were damaged or destroyed. However, one Russian witness filming the destruction said:

It’s a serious tragedy, folks. This is serious stuff. It’s all fucking on fire. And it’s fucking smoke. It’s all fucking exploding. That’s it.

Ukrainian drones also hit a railway ferry with fuel tanks in the port of Kavkaz, not far from the Kerch road and rail bridge linking the Russia with occupied Crimea.

Ukraine Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk said a platoon base was struck with high-precision US-made GBU-39 bombs, hitting “a drone command post, a radio-electronic warfare unit, equipment, weapons, and up to 40 Russian service members”.

UPDATE 0706 GMT:

The Kremlin is trying to condition Russian society to accept Ukraine’s presence in the Kursk region as a “new normal”, downplaying the significance of the cross-border, incursion, according to “Russian government sources”.

The sources said Kremlin propaganda will urge Russians to wait for forces to retake these territories after an “inevitable” defeat of the Ukrainians in eastern Ukraine. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin’s official are trying to distract Russians with stories of humanitarian assistance drives.

The Kremlin has decided against cancelling Kursk gubernatorial elections, scheduled for September, to minimize panic. However, local elections in seven areas will be postponed because of security risks.

The Kremlin’s propaganda is not working with every Russian. “Sasha” in Moscow tells the independent Russian outlet Meduza:

Contrary to how I “should” feel, and even contrary to common sense, I’ve had a distinct feeling that some big, good event is unfolding day by day….In my mind I understand that this is unethical, it’s bad and so on, but I can’t help this feeling.

He who sows the wind shall reap the whirlwind. It’s bitter and difficult but we must admit: Ukraine is doing what it has the right to do.

“Veronika” in the Belgorod region says, “I don’t care where the war is taking place. I just want them to stop shooting.”

Others are awaiting news of relatives amid the evacuation of around 200,000 residents in Kursk. “Anastasia” says that she has not spoken to her grandparents, who lived near Sudzha, since August 5:

I really hope and believe that help was organized on time. All that remains is to wait and believe.

UPDATE 0649 GMT:

The Kyiv Independent speaks with Ukrianian troops who captured the Russian border town of Sudzha in the first days of the incursion into the Kursk region.

Serhii recalls how troops were informed only a day before the cross-border advance:

Everything happened so spontaneously and quickly, at first when the command came down we thought they were joking.

I thought at the time that the hope was to just distract the enemy from another operation somewhere else. But as I saw how many of our guys were going, I saw it was something big.

He adds, “I was dreaming for a while about entering [Russian-occupied] Crimea, but this here was something else, it felt like we really dealt Russia a blow.”

ORIGINAL ENTRY: The European Union’s foreign policy head Josep Borrell is supporting permission for Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons in long-range strikes inside Russia.

Borrell posted on Wednesday:

Ukraine’s Kursk offensive is a severe blow to Russian President Putin’s narrative.

Lifting restrictions on the use of capabilities vs the Russian military involved in aggression against Ukraine, in accordance with international law, would have several important effects.

Borrell cited the strengthening of Ukrainian self defense, saving lives and reducing destruction, and helping the “advance [of] peace efforts”.

The diplomat will meet Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba in a gathering of the EU’s foreign and defense Ministers next week in Brussels.

Amid its incursion into the Kursk region in western Russia, Ukraine is striking Russian airbases, oil depots, and other supply and logistics positions. However, the US, UK, and France are continuing to withhold permission for the use of long-range missiles.

Early Thursday, Ukrainian drones hit the Marinovka airfield in the Volgograd region deep inside Russia. Explosions were heard in the nearby town of Kalach-na-Donu, and NASA’s satellite fire detection system confirmed blazes at and near the airfield.

The Ukrainian military confirmed on Wednesday that it has destroyed Russian pontoon bridges with US-made HIMARS rockets, posting video of the operations.

Ukraine has destroyed three permanent bridges over the Seym River since last Friday, seeking to trap thousands of Russian troops south of the river in the Glushkovsky district.