Ukraine Update…896 Days of the Russian Conflict…Ukraine marches into Russia

Kyiv residents have welcomed reports of a Ukrainian incursion into the Russian border region of Kursk, according to a survey conducted by the AFP news agency on the streets of the Ukrainian capital.

“Let’s show the Muscovites what war is,” said tourism agent Volodymyr Borodyansky, adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin “probably wasn’t expecting that.”

Kyiv resident Rita Simon said the Russians “came onto our land, so now they can feel what our mothers and our lads who are fighting feel.”

Tetiana Krapyvka, who works in the financial sector, said she was “proud” and “happy” to hear the reports of the raid which, according to both western observers and Russian military bloggers, has seen Ukrainian troops penetrate up to 10 kilometers (6 miles) inside Russian territory.

“We’re hoping for victory, we’re confident,” she added.

Volodymyr Pyatov saw practical strategic benefits and hoped the incursion could “draw enemy forces away from other sections of the front,” while Rita Simon suggested the attack might strengthen Ukraine‘s hand in any future negotiations….

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Sudzha gas transit route still functioning

Ukrainian Energy Minister German Galushchenko said the gas transit station in Russia’s Sudzha was still operational and that there had been no contact from Moscow regarding it.

Sudzha is the town in Russia‘s Kursk region which has reportedly been the scene of fighting after Ukrainian forces launched a cross-border incursion.

The facilities at gas transit station, which are owned by Russian gas company Gazprom, are the only remaining entry point for Russian natural gas into Ukraine before onward transport to Europe.

“Gazprom is feeding Russian gas for transit through the territory of Ukraine in the amount confirmed by the Ukrainian side through the Sudzha metering station,” said Gazprom spokesman Sergei Kupriyanov, confirming 39.4 million cubic meters (mcm) for August 7.

Unconfirmed reports from Russian military bloggers, who are considered close to the Russian armed forces, suggested that Ukrainian troops had captured a gas measuring station at Sudzha, which is about 10 kilometers from the border.

Approximately 40mcm of gas pass through Sudzha every day, with a total annual transit volume of about 14 billion cm.

The current gas deal between Ukraine and Russia expires this year, and Kyiv has said it has no intention of extending it.