Russian military vehciles destroyed by Ukraine’s advance in the Kursk region in southwest Russia, August 2024

Sunday’s Coverage: Kyiv Repels Another Russian Missile and Drone Attack

Map: Institute for the Study of War

UPDATE 2104 GMT:

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Ukrainian forces control 92 settlements and more than 1,250 square kilometers (483 square miles) in the Kursk region in southwest Russia.

Speaking at a meeting in Dnipro in south-central Ukraine, Zelenskiy said the forces continue to strengthen their positions, stabilize “certain areas”, and capture Russian soldiers.

UPDATE 1350 GMT:

Germany and Denmark have each announced latest packages of military support for Ukraine:

Denmark’s package is worth almost 800 million Kroner (more than $118 million).

Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said he supported the use of Danish weapons by Kyiv, including during the incursion into the Kursk region in southwest Russia.

You can’t take the approach of telling Ukraine not to go to the other side of the Russian army and cut off supply chains.

After all, it is a defensive operation which serves the purpose of cutting off Russian supply chains for Russian military units on occupied Ukrainian territory.

UPDATE 1337 GMT:

Authorities have ordered families with children to evacuate urgently from Pokrovsk and nearby towns in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

Russia’s 10 1/2-month offensive is advancing toward Pokrovsk, a logistics hub with a pre-invasion population of around 62,000.

Serhiy Dobriak, the head of city’s military administration, said civilians have “a week or two, no more”. He said authorities can evacuate at least 1,000 people a day, but only 500 to 600 people per day are currently leaving.

Donetsk Governor Vadym Filashkin posted that around 53,000 people, including almost 4,000 children, are still in and near Pokrovsk.

UPDATE 1028 GMT:

Ukraine has damaged a third bridge over the Seym River in the Kursk region.

In a video statement, Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed the successful Ukrainian strike. The extent of the damage is unclear.

Last Friday, Ukraine destroyed two of the three bridges across the Seym River in the Glushkovo district, threatening to cut off the area.

Ukraine War, Day 906: Incursion Into Russia’s Kursk Destroys 2 Important Bridges

UPDATE 0959 GMT:

At least four civilians have been killed and at least 17 wounded, including a child, by Russian attacks across Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

Ukraine’s air defenses downed all 11 Iran-type attack drones launched by Moscow overnight.

However, three people were killed and nine injured by Russian attacks in the Donetzk region in eastern Ukraine.

The fatalities were in Toretsk, Myrnohrad, and Rozlyv.

In the Sumy region in northern Ukraine, Russia’s bombing of Bilopillia killed one person and wounded three, including an 11-year-old child.

UPDATE 0926 GMT:

The Economist reports on the operational secrecy contributing to Ukraine’s successful incursion into the Kursk region in southwest Russia.

“Ukrainian soldiers and people close to” military commander-in-chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi say he shared plans only with a select few military and security officials. He discussed them with President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in one-on-one meetings.

Up to the August 6 operation, Syrskyi was considering an attack on the Bryansk region, around 250 km (155 miles) to the north of Kursk, or a combined strike on both areas.

International partners were not informed in advance.

The Economist’s sources echoed the statement of President Zelenskiy that the goal of the incursion is the establishment of a buffer zone. This will give Ukraine leverage in negotiations to end Russia’s invasion with the liberation of occupied areas.

The operation also seeks to draw Russian forces away from the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, where Moscow has been trying to seize more territory in an offensive since last October.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: President Volodymyr Zelenskiy says Ukraine is creating a “buffer zone” with its 13-day incursion taking part of the Kursk region in southwest Russia.

In his nightly address to the nation, Zelenskiy said:

It is now our primary task in defensive operations overall to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions. This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory – our operation in the Kursk region.

The Ukraine military says it has taken 82 settlements and around 1,150 square km (444 square miles) in Kursk. About 200,000 residents have been evacuated.

Zelenskiy pressed for accelerated supplies from partners — “We need decisions. We need timely logistics for the promised aid packages” — as Ukraine awaits permission from the US, UK, and France for the use of long-range missiles inside Russia.

He noted the complement to the military operations of “important weeks of diplomatic work…involving various partners. Europe, America, the Global South”. This would lay the foundations for negotiations to end Vladimir Putin’s 2 1/2-year invasion with “a just end to this war”, including restoration of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

“Russia Blackmailing World” at Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant

On Monday, Zelenskiy posted about Russia’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest with six nuclear reactors.

The Russians seized the plant in the opening days of the invasion, converting it into a military base to fire at Ukrainian territory across the Dnipro River in the south of the country.

Zelenskiy asserted:

Russia is blackmailing the world with the threat of a catastrophe at the ZNPP. It is using the plant’s territory as a launching ground for attacks on Nikopol and other nearby communities, and it is storing military equipment and ammunition on the territory of the ZNPP. Only the return of the plant to Ukrainian control will ensure full compliance with all safety standards and normalize the situation around the ZNPP.