It appears that the area was NOT manned by a large amount of regular Russian troops….
Most there where draftee’s…..
Never-the less?
Ukraine IS gaining captured Russian territory , an embarrassment to Russian President Putin….
Opposite the euphoria with the Ukraine invasion advance ?
Russian troops ARE making slow advances in the Donbas region of Donetsk …
One would guess the Russians do NOT want take seasoned troops FROM Donetsk and allow Ukraine troops to strike back there…
Hmmmmm?
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Russia is urgently advertising for trench diggers to build defences in the Kursk region because of Ukraine’s surprise invasion, according to reports. Figures quoted by the BBC’s Russian service from the jobs site Avito suggested wages equating to US$2,500 a month or more. Ads call for labourers and general workers with no experience, but also excavator operators, and promise the work will be “outside the combat zone” with “no danger”. The Institute for the Study of War, citing satellite images, has said Russia is hurriedly trying to fortify a line 10 miles (16km) away from Ukraine’s frontline in Kursk.
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The UN human rights office (UNHCR) said it had asked Moscow to let it visit Russian regions affected by Ukraine’s cross-border campaign. The office had previously asked Russia repeatedly for access to both Russian territory and to Ukrainian territories under Russia’s control, to no avail,said Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the UNHCR. In contrast, Ukraine has said it will open humanitarian corridors for evacuating civilians towards both Russia and Ukraine, and Ukrainian officials have promised access for international humanitarian organisations like the International Committee of the Red Cross and the UN. In Kursk, Agence France-Presse said its reporters saw about 500 evacuees from border areas queueing for food and clothes being distributed by the Russian Red Cross.
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Col Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Ukrainian commander in chief, said Ukraine had set up a military commandant’s office in occupied Kursk. “We are moving forward in Kursk region. A military commandant’s office has been created which must ensure order and also all the needs of the local population,” Syrskyi said, adding that the office would be headed by Maj Gen Eduard Moskalyov. Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, announced his troops had full control over the Russian town of Sudzha, which had a prewar population of 5,000 people and contains infrastructure pumping Russian gas towards Europe, writes Shaun Walker.
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Dan Sabbagh writes that the Ukrainian incursion has been good for morale at home but has obscured the difficulties Ukraine is facing in the central section of Donbas oblast, where Russian forces have been gaining a mile a week since 1 July – pressing towards Pokrovsk, a strategic road and rail junction
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Russia said on Thursday that its forces had taken control of Ivanivka, 16km (10 miles) from Pokrovsk. It was reported by Reuters, which said it could not independently verify the claim, but said Ukraine had reported the heaviest fighting in weeks near Pokrovsk.
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Ukraine’s special forces captured a group of more than 100 Russian soldiers in Kursk, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on Thursday, adding that Ukrainian forces also took over their “sprawling, concrete and well-fortified company stronghold”. The 102 servicemen of Russia’s 488th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment and its “Akhmat” unit are the largest group of soldiers to be captured at the same time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion, according to the SBU. Pictures showed dozens of Russian servicemen sitting or lying on the ground in a concrete bunker with their helmets and weapons piled up near the walls. The prisoners would eventually be swapped for Ukrainian prisoners of war, the SBU said….
The Biden administration is “open” to sending long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine, a move that would give Kyiv’s F-16s greater combat punch as it seeks to gain further momentum in its fight against Russia.
The White House’s willingness to give Ukraine the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile comes as Kyiv’s surprisingly successful ground assault deep inside Russia heads into its second week, embarrassing Vladimir Putin and forcing him to redirect troops from the battlefield in Ukraine.
No final decision has been made on sending the missile, but the administration is working through the complicated details now, according to one Biden administration official. Those issues include reviews of the transfer of sensitive technologies, and ensuring Ukraine’s jets can launch the 2,400-pound missile that carries a 1,000-pound warhead….
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Some members of Congress and political opponents have accused the Biden administration of moving too slowly to give Kyiv the equipment it needs to win the war. Yet for a conflict that is just 30 months old, the approvals of F-16s, Abrams tanks, cruise missiles, Patriot air defenses and modern infantry carriers have transformed what was a Soviet-era military into one of Europe’s battlefield powerhouses.
Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, August 15, 2024
Aug 15, 2024 – ISW Press
Ukrainian officials are taking steps to consolidate and coordinate the management of ongoing Ukrainian operations in Kursk Oblast while continuing to highlight Ukrainian advances. Russian milbloggers claimed that Ukrainian forces continued advancing in some areas in Kursk Oblast amid a generally slower tempo of Ukrainian operations in the area. Russian forces are maintaining their relatively high offensive tempo in Donetsk Oblast, demonstrating that the Russian military command continues to prioritize advances in eastern Ukraine even as Ukraine is pressuring Russian forces within Kursk Oblast.