Sputnik reported that on August 7, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at a meeting with members of the Russian government that Ukraine had carried out a large-scale province, firing various weapons, including missiles, at civilian buildings, residential areas and ambulances.
The president said he was regularly informed about the situation by the Ministry of National Defense and other relevant government departments. He also contacted Acting Governor Aleksey Smirnov and pledged additional assistance to the Kursk provincial government to help resolve the emergency.
General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov said that at 5:30 a.m. on August 6, local time, the Ukrainian army launched a major raid on Russia's Kursk province, breaking through the border at many locations. The attack focused on the town of Sudzha, located about 9 km from the border.
The town of Sudzha has continuously suffered from attacks by artillery and drones.
According to Russian military estimates, up to 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers participated in the attack. The army has broken through with dozens of heavy equipment, including tanks of various types, US-made Stryker armored vehicles, along with armored vehicles and other equipment.
The fighting continued all night, until August 7. The Russian military launched attacks with artillery, air superior and ballistic missiles on Ukrainian forces, killing more than 300 soldiers and 54 armored vehicles, including at least 6 tanks.
"The enemy suffered heavy damage due to artillery fire and strikes by the Russian army in coordination with the use of UAVs in attack. As a result of the losses, the Ukrainian special forces have retreated to their territory, with some fighters trying to stay close to the national border, but have been stopped by Russian military units, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the attack of being used as a warmongering to extend Ukraine's "deadly military mobilization". She noted that on August 7, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a bill to extend the military mobilization for another 3 months.
Deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, Mr. Farhan Haq, said that the attack by the Ukrainian army on Kursk province increases the risk of escalating the situation. "All of these incidents increase the risk of an alarmingly escalating crisis and we want the situation to escalate as much as possible," Haq said at a press conference with reporters.
On August 7, White House spokesman John Kirby said that Washington planned to ask Kiev to clarify the attack by the Ukrainian army in Kursk province. He added that Washington's view on the use of US weapons by the Ukrainian army in Russian territory after the attack in Kursk province has not changed.
Meanwhile, Adalbi Shkhagoshev, a member of the Russian State Duma Security Committee (the lower house of the Russian parliament), told Sputnik that the raid on Kursk province was planned by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and British intelligence.
S strategic retaliation for this raid will be very painful for them both military and politically, Shkhagoshev said, noting that having storks in many countries do not want peace, but are trying to fight the front.
After the attack on Kursk Oblast was unconditionally repelled, the Russian armys advance will accelerate. We know they have spent too much effort on this campaign, added lawmaker Shkhagoshev.
