Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
Ukraine Claims Control of 500 Square Miles in Kursk, Captures 594 Russian Troops
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 months ago on
August 27, 2024

In this photo provided by the National Police of Ukraine on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, a residential house is seen on fire after Russian airstrike in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. (National Police of Ukraine via AP)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

KYIV, Ukraine — The chief of Ukraine’s army said Tuesday that the country’s troops have gained control of nearly 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russia’s Kursk region since their surprise incursion three weeks ago.

Ukraine Captured 594 Russian Prisoners

Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi also said that Ukraine has captured 594 Russian prisoners in its operation. His claims could not be independently confirmed.

He said the Kursk incursion was drawing Russian troops from elsewhere, diluting them in some other areas. “They attempt to create a ring of defense around our offensive group of troops and plan counteroffensive actions,” Syrskyi said. The seized territory is roughly the size of Los Angeles.

Fighting in the region has raised concerns about dangers to the Kursk nuclear power plant, said International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi, who visited the plant on Tuesday.

“There is now a danger of a nuclear incident here,” Russian news agencies cited Grossi as saying. “Today I was told about several cases of drone attacks on the territory, on the plant’s facilities. At the plant I saw traces of these attacks.”

But the plant now is operating “in a mode very close to normal,” he said.

Syrskyi’s claim of territorial control came hours after Ukraine endured a second consecutive barrage of nighttime air and missile attacks from Russia.

Five people were reported killed and 16 injured in the attacks, which President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said included 81 drones, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles. He said four people died, but the governor of the Zaporizhzhia region later said a fifth person had died there from burns in the attacks.

“We will undoubtedly respond to Russia for this and all other attacks. Crimes against humanity cannot go unpunished.” Zelenskyy wrote on X.

Kursk Operation Forced Some 130,000 Residents to Evacuate

The Kursk operation, the largest incursion into Russia since World War II, has forced some 130,000 residents to evacuate their homes. Russia has sent reinforcements into the region, but it was not clear to what extent these movements might be weakening Russia’s positions in Ukrainian territory.

Zelenskyy said Tuesday that Russia is not relocating troops to Kursk from Donetsk, the eastern Ukraine region that is the center of the war and where Russia has been making slow advances. However, Zelenskyy said the Kursk operation had prevented Russia’s aims of taking territory in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions to the west of Kursk.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Tuesday that Ukraine has suffered heavy casualties in Kursk — some 6,600 troops either killed or injured — and that more than 70 tanks have been destroyed along with scores of armored vehicles. Those figures could not be independently confirmed.

In the Kyiv region, which had struggled with blackouts after Monday’s onslaught that targeted energy facilities throughout the country, five air alerts were called during the night. The regional administration said air defenses destroyed all the drones and missiles but that falling debris set off forest fires.

After Monday’s barrage across Ukraine of more than 100 missiles and a similar number of drones, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said “the energy infrastructure has once again become the target of Russian terrorists” and urged Ukraine’s allies to provide it with long-range weapons and permission to use them on targets inside Russia.

The allies “try not to speak with me about it. But I keep raising this topic. Generally, that’s it. The Olympics are over, but the ping-pong continues,” Zelenskyy said.

President Joe Biden called Monday’s Russian attack on energy infrastructure “outrageous” and said he had “reprioritized U.S. air defense exports so they are sent to Ukraine first.” He also said the U.S. was “surging energy equipment to Ukraine to repair its systems and strengthen the resilience of Ukraine’s energy grid.”

The Russian Defense Ministry said the attacks used “long-range precision air- and sea-based weapons and strike drones against critical energy infrastructure facilities that support the operation of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex. All designated targets were hit.”

Russian officials reported four Ukrainian missiles were shot down over the Kursk region.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Musk, Vivek Will Form Outside Group to Advise White House on Government Efficiency

DON'T MISS

Fate of Clovis Trustee Race Still Up in the Air. So Are Clovis, Sanger School Bond Measures.

DON'T MISS

Richardson Widens Lead Over Bonakdar in Nail-Biting Race for Fresno City Council

DON'T MISS

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

DON'T MISS

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

DON'T MISS

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

DON'T MISS

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

DON'T MISS

Economists Warn of Inflation and Debt Risks in Trump’s Second Term Plans

DON'T MISS

How Many Smoke Shops Is Too Many? Fresno Plan Would Allow Only 49

UP NEXT

Fate of Clovis Trustee Race Still Up in the Air. So Are Clovis, Sanger School Bond Measures.

UP NEXT

Richardson Widens Lead Over Bonakdar in Nail-Biting Race for Fresno City Council

UP NEXT

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

UP NEXT

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

UP NEXT

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

UP NEXT

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

UP NEXT

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

UP NEXT

Economists Warn of Inflation and Debt Risks in Trump’s Second Term Plans

UP NEXT

How Many Smoke Shops Is Too Many? Fresno Plan Would Allow Only 49

UP NEXT

US Says It Will Not Limit Israel Arms Transfers After Some Improvements in Flow of Aid to Gaza

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

6 hours ago

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

6 hours ago

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

6 hours ago

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

6 hours ago

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

6 hours ago

Economists Warn of Inflation and Debt Risks in Trump’s Second Term Plans

6 hours ago

How Many Smoke Shops Is Too Many? Fresno Plan Would Allow Only 49

7 hours ago

US Says It Will Not Limit Israel Arms Transfers After Some Improvements in Flow of Aid to Gaza

7 hours ago

Who With Valley Ties Could Land Spots in the Trump Administration?

8 hours ago

Tulare Gang Member Gets Life Without Parole for 2022 Murders

9 hours ago

Trump Says Musk, Vivek Will Form Outside Group to Advise White House on Government Efficiency

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump on Tuesday said Elon Musk and former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy will lead a new “D...

5 hours ago

5 hours ago

Trump Says Musk, Vivek Will Form Outside Group to Advise White House on Government Efficiency

5 hours ago

Fate of Clovis Trustee Race Still Up in the Air. So Are Clovis, Sanger School Bond Measures.

5 hours ago

Richardson Widens Lead Over Bonakdar in Nail-Biting Race for Fresno City Council

6 hours ago

What to Know About John Ratcliffe, Trump’s Pick for CIA Director

6 hours ago

Here Are the People Trump Has Picked for Key Positions So Far

6 hours ago

Waymo’s Robotaxis Now Open to Anyone Who Wants a Driverless Ride in Los Angeles

A Fresno County man has been indicted on mail fraud charges for allegedly submitting over $300,000 in falsified disability claims using stolen identities. (GV Wire File)
6 hours ago

Fresno County Man Accused of Filing Fake Disability Claims in $300K Fraud Scheme

Pete Hegseth walks to an elevator for a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, Dec. 15, 2016. (AP File)
6 hours ago

Trump Nominates Fox News Host Pete Hegseth for Defense Secretary

Search

Send this to a friend