Russia has deployed more troops in the Kursk Region following a surprise offensive by the Ukrainian Armed Forces last week, the British Ministry of Defence reports, citing an intelligence report.
According to the intelligence report, the Russian Ministry of Defence acknowledged that Ukrainian troops had penetrated the Russian border region "to a depth of 10 to 25 km on a front of approximately 40 km".
Intelligence experts also add that despite the defensive lines established by Russia and the presence of border forces in the Kursk Region, Russian troops were not prepared to respond to the assault by several battalions.
"After the initial confusion and disorganisation, Russian forces deployed larger forces in the region, including likely from other locations along the contact line," the British Ministry of Defence said.
According to British intelligence, the Russians have begun building additional defences in an attempt to stop the Ukrainian Defence Forces' advance.
The spokesperson for the Tauride direction said that there was no significant reduction in Russian troops in the southern regions. The enemy has also become more active in the Kherson Region.
Situation in the Kursk Region
- On 6 August, Russia started talking about a border breach in the Kursk Region. At first, it claimed that the attempt had failed and that its FSB had contained the operation, but even its pro-war bloggers reported a loss of control. The head of the Centre for Countering Disinformation, Andriy Kovalenko, said that day that Russian claims of border control in the Kursk Region were false. This was the first and only comment by a Ukrainian official on the subject.
- On 7 August, the Russians reported that the fighting continued. Evacuations were announced from some settlements. No one denied the fact that the border had been breached, including Vladimir Putin, who urgently called a meeting of the government and, according to Russian media, the security council.
- Comments on the Kursk Region, albeit rather circumspect, began to be made by Mykhaylo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Presidential Office.
- Meanwhile, the US and the EU were very cautious in their comments. Washington said it wanted to clarify with Ukraine what was happening. The Americans also said that we should not forget that Russia attacked Ukrainians from the Kursk Region and that Ukraine has the right to defend itself. The right to defence was also reiterated in the European Union.
- On 8 August, the Ukrainian president said in an address that Russia had brought war to our land, and it should feel what it had done. The Pentagon said that it did not consider the events in the Kursk Region to be an escalation, and that Ukraine was doing what it needed to do to win on the battlefield.