An elderly man is evacuated from the Kursk region in western Russia (Sky)

Wednesday’s Coverage: Russia’s State of Emergency Spreads Amid Ukrainian Incursion

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 1935 GMT:

The Biden Administration is considering the supply of long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.

The Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile would bolster the capability of F-16 fighter jets, the first of which are arriving in Ukraine this summer.

One official said no final decision has been made. However, the administration is working through the complicated details of issues including reviews of the transfer of sensitive technologies, and ensuring Ukraine’s jets can launch a 2,400-pound missile that carries a 1,000-pound warhead.

Pentagon spokesperson Jeff Jurgensen said, “We consider a range of options to meet Ukraine’s security assistance requirements; however, we have no information to provide.”

UPDATE 1932 GMT:

Two civilians — a 39-year-old man and a 60-year-old woman — have been killed by Russian artillery shelling of the village of Verhnyokamianske in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

UPDATE 1928 GMT:

A UK official has said that British Challenger 2 tanks have been used in Ukraine’s incursion into western Russia.

The UK Ministry of Defence refused to comment on operational matters. It said there has been no change in policy permitting UK weapons, except long-range Storm Shadow missiles, to be used on Russian soil as part of Kyiv’s self-defense.

UPDATE 1906 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has confirmed that Ukrainian troops have full control over the border town of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region.

Troops closed in on Sudzha, with around 5,000 people and about 10 km (6.2 miles) from the border, in the first days of Ukraine’s incursion last week. Ukrainian journalists reported from inside the town on Wednesday, showing soldiers taking down a Russian flag.

Zelenskiy said after a briefing from military commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, who reported that 82 settlements and an area of 1,150 square km (444 square miles) are under Ukrainian control:

General Syrskyi reported on the completion of the liberation of the town of Sudzha from the Russian military. A Ukrainian military commandant’s office is being established there now.

Former Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Fedorov complained on State TV about Ukraine’s capture of a nearby gas distribution station, trying to put pressure on European countries to stop the Ukrainian advance.

Smart people in Kyiv have calculated that they should take over this hub, in order that the Russian army will have to destroy it. This means deliveries of gas to Europe will be stopped, because of Russia’s actions, not Ukraine’s. By the way, this will hit Hungary and Slovakia very hard.

There has been no indication of a disruption to gas flow from Ukraine’s operations.

Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky fumed about a “mad and reckless operation”. He insisted that Russia would soon restore control but betrayed that it might not.

What’s happening in Kursk is the incursion of terrorist sabotage groups, so there is no frontline as such….There is an incursion because there are forests that are very difficult to control.

UPDATE 1001 GMT:

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy initially approved the plan to sabotage the Nord Stream gas pipelines from Russia to Germany, according to “four people involved” who spoke to The Wall Street Journal.

Three of the four Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 pipelines were damaged off the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea in September 2022. No one has claimed responsibility, and a multi-national investigation ended without a conclusive finding.

The sources said said the operation was conceived in May 2022 as a response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion. The Ukrainian military would oversee its implementation with financing by businessmen. The plan was led by the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine Armed Forces, Gen. Valeriy Zaluzhny.

Zelensky approved the plan verbally. A month later, the Dutch military intelligence agency learned of Kyiv’s intentions and passed on the information to the US Central Intelligence Agency. American officials immediately informed Germany.

When the CIA demanded that the Ukrainian Presidential office halt, Zelensky ordered Zaluzhny to wind down the operation. However, the general disobeyed, according to the sources.

UPDATE 0951 GMT:

Dual US-Russian national Ksenia Karelina has been condemned by a Russian court to 12 years in jail on treason charges.

Karelina’s “crime” was a donation of just over $50 to a charity supporting Ukraine.

Her conviction comes two weeks after the release of 16 Russian dissidents and foreign nationals, including three Americans, in exchange for eight Russian spies, a hacker, and an assassin.

UPDATE 0945 GMT:

Austria’s Raiffeisenbank, the largest foreign bank still operating in Russia, will halt outgoing transfers in foreign currency for individual clients from September 2.

Raiffeisenbank has been under pressure from the US and the European Union to reduce operations and comply with international sanctions. This spring the European Central Bank ordered it to reduce money transfers by 2026 to 35% of the level in the third quarter of 2023.

“We are sorry if this situation disrupts your financial plans, but we cannot influence this decision,” Raiffeisenbank said in a statement to customers.

UPDATE 0936 GMT:

Russian authorities are evacuating more residents from border regions.

Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov said the Glushkov district, with a population of 20,000, is among those affected.

UPDATE 0915 GMT:

Russia launched 29 Iran-type attack drones and three Kh-59 guided air-launched missiles against Ukraine overnight.

Ukraine air defenses downed all the UAVs over the Mykolaiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kyiv regions.

The military did not report on the outcome of the missile launches.

UPDATE 0901 GMT:

Ukraine’s military is claiming the capture of more Russian troops in the Kursk region.

The incursion reportedly overran fortified a company stronghold with underground communications, rooms for personnel accommodation, a canteen, a weapons room, and a bathhouse.

The military claimed 102 POWs from Russia’s 488th Motorized Rifle Regiment and a Chechen Akhmat unit.

The Warriors of the Special Group “Alpha” captured the company stronghold, which was branched, concreted and qualitatively fortified from all sides – with underground communications and rooms for personnel accommodation, canteen, weapons room and even a bathhouse. The enemy was not going to surrender; there were more than enough provisions and ammunition.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: As Ukraine advances in western Russia in its nine-day incursion, Russian officials are offering workers up to $4,000 to dig trenches in the Kursk region.

Advertisements on job portals seek “general workers”, with rates between 150,000 to 371,000 roubles (around $1,600 to $4,000).

Ukrainian forces have claimed about 1,000 square km (386 square miles) of territory, including 74 settlements, in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. Around 200,000 residents have been evacuated, as Governors of both regions declared states of emergency.

Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War reported on Sunday that Russia had not dedicated enoough military personnel to the build-up of defenses.

Sparsely manned and equipped border fortifications proved insufficient at preventing Ukrainian gains at the outset of the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast, and the Russian military command will likely conclude that further manpower and equipment commitments to the international border will be required.

Map:Institute for the Study of War

Zelenskiy: Ukraine Must Fight “According to the Rules”

In his nightly address to the nation, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he had spoken with senior officials about “support for our military actions” in Kursk: “It is crucial that Ukraine fights according to the rules, and that humanitarian needs in that area must be met.”

He thanked personnel for “precise, timely, and effective strikes on Russian airfields”, as the Ukrainian military reported drone attacks on four bases: one in Kursk, two in the Voronezh region, and one in the Nizhny Novgorod region, about 650 km (404 miles) inside Russia.

He appealed again to partners for permission to use long-range missiles, such as the US ATACMS, British Storm Shadow, and French SCALP:

Our Ukrainian drones are working exactly as needed. However, there are things that drones alone cannot achieve, unfortunately. We need other weapons—missile systems. We continue to work with our partners to secure long-range solutions for Ukraine because these are forward-looking decisions essential for our victory. This must be done. The bolder our partners’ decisions, the less Putin can do.