Russia begins counteroffensive to push Ukrainian forces out of Kursk

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Russia has started a significant counteroffensive to push back Ukrainian forces from its southern Kursk region, according to Russian and Ukrainian officials.

The Russian defence ministry on Thursday said its forces had retaken 10 settlements in Kursk, or about 63 sq km of land, marking the first major drive by Moscow to recapture territories after Ukrainian troops stormed across the border in a surprise attack last month.

The Russian counteroffensive on its soil comes as Moscow’s troops have been making steady gains in eastern Ukraine, approaching the logistical hub of Pokrovsk. On Thursday, a Russian missile also hit a foreign-flagged cargo ship in the Black Sea carrying wheat bound for Egypt shortly after it left Ukrainian waters, eroding trust in the safety of a key trade artery that is crucial both for global food supplies and Ukraine’s economy.

Ukrainian forces have been seeking to consolidate the territorial gains made in Russia and carried out more drone strikes, including in the Moscow region, where two apartment buildings were hit this week. Russian authorities on Tuesday reported the first civilian casualty in the Moscow region from a drone attack since the start of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in the spring of 2022.

The Russian counteroffensive in Kursk has homed in on the left flank of the Ukrainian contingent in the area, from the settlement of Krasnooktyabrskoe down to the Russian-Ukrainian border towns of Snagost and Gordeevka.

Russian forces have also captured at least 10 Ukrainian soldiers, according to drone footage shared on social media.

“The [Ukrainians] have been squeezed on their western flank down to Snagost, and surprisingly easily. It seems the [Ukrainians] really didn’t have major forces there,” said a person close to the Russian military establishment.

But there had been no further movement since, the person said, and it remained unclear whether the push marked a significant turning point.

A western analyst who did not want to be identified as the situation was still unclear said Russia seemed to have taken at least one Ukrainian unit by surprise.

Ukraine could always respond with a counterattack, and was unlikely to be pushed out of Kursk completely in the near future as it has better brigades in other areas, the person said. “But their territorial hold may decrease.”

A senior Ukrainian military intelligence official described the Russian gains in Kursk as purely tactical and said the push could not be described as a large-scale attack.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the Russian assault on Thursday but said “everything was going according to Ukraine’s plan”.

Ukrainian forces entered Russia in a surprise attack on August 6, capturing about 1,200 sq km in the space of 10 days and marking the first incursion into Russian territory since the second world war. Since then, facing Russian resistance, they have edged forward about 100 sq km.

Zelenskyy said last week that he intended for Ukrainian troops to stay in Kursk indefinitely, indicating a hope to use the seized territory as a bargaining chip in any future peace negotiations — particularly regarding the fate of swaths of Ukrainian land at present occupied and claimed by Russia.

Ukraine also hoped the Kursk incursion would divert Russia’s best-trained troops away from their frontline positions in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine — but that has not so far materialised.

The counteroffensive in Kursk is being carried out by Russian infantry assault and marine brigades that were pulled from other areas such as Kherson, according to the senior Ukrainian military intelligence official. Russia has sent close to 38,000 troops to the Kursk region, the person said.

In Donetsk region, where Russian forces have been making steady gains, two-thirds of Pokrovsk residents have now been evacuated, according to the city’s authorities, while about 24,000 remain.

Three workers of the International Committee of the Red Cross were killed on Thursday while preparing to distribute humanitarian aid in the northern Donetsk village of Viroliubivka, according to a statement by the organisation.

Zelenskyy on Thursday said a Russian missile had struck the Egypt-bound cargo ship which had left the Ukrainian port of Chornomorsk on Wednesday with more than 26,000 tonnes of wheat.

Information on Marine Traffic, the vessel-tracking website, showed that the ship named Aya made a sharp course change, suggestive of a missile strike, at 11pm local time on Wednesday while in Romania’s maritime economic zone.

The ship “sustained damage to its port side, including a cargo hold and a crane”, said Ambrey, a maritime security firm. “According to AIS data, the vessel managed to sail to Romania under its own power, indicating that its propulsion system was not compromised.”

Zelenskyy said there were no casualties, adding that Ukraine was “waiting for the world to react”.

“Wheat and food security should never be targets for missiles,” he said.

Additional reporting by Robert Wright in London