Ukraine now controls 1,000sq km of Russian territory, officials say

12 August 2024, 20:16

Ukraine has taken control of around 1,000 square kilometres of Russia’s Kursk region since their invasion on Tuesday, according to Kyiv's army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Around 121,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk region with another 59,000 told to leave following the advancement that has left Moscow “severely embarrassed.”

Ukrainian forces have advanced up to 18 miles (30km) inside Russia making this the deepest incursion since Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Some 11,000 people have now been evacuated from the Krasnoyaruzhsky district in Russia's Belgorod region with just 500 residents remaining.

Matthew Savill, military sciences director at the Royal United Services Institute, said Russia has been "severely embarrassed".

"The loss of territory and evacuation of civilians will play poorly back in Russia as evidence they 'can't defend themselves'," he added.

Russian President Vladmir Putin has said the Kursk offensive appeared to reflect Kyiv's attempt to gain a better negotiating position in possible future talks to end the war.

"It's obvious that the enemy will keep trying to destabilise the situation in the border zone to try to destabilise the domestic political situation in our country," he added.

Putin said Ukraine had failed in its aim to destabilise Russia though and that Moscow's military must "dislodge" Ukrainian troops from border regions.

He previously described the move by Kyiv as a "large-scale provocation" that involved the "indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings, residential houses and ambulances."

One of Putin’s governors accused Ukraine of chemical weapon use during the invasion - though it is unclear if he has provided any evidence.

Both countries have accused one another and reported allegations of use of chemical weapons during the war.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke on the invasion for the first time over the weekend, saying that Russia deserved a "fair" response following its launch of nearly 2,000 cross-border strikes at Ukraine's Sumy region in recent months.