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More than 2,000 residents of Russia’s Kursk Region remain in areas controlled by Ukrainian forces, according to acting governor Alexei Smirnov's recent report to Vladimir Putin. Their fate remains unknown. During the briefing, Putin interrupted Smirnov when he began discussing the extent of the Ukrainian advance in the region.
The following is an excerpt of the exchange:
Smirnov: “The situation in the region is complicated. As of today, 28 settlements are under enemy control. The depth of penetration into the territory of the Kursk Region is 12 kilometers, the width along the front is 40 kilometers.”
Putin: “Look, the military department will report on the width and depth. You will report on the socio-economic situation and assistance [being offered] to the people.”
Smirnov: “We have 28 [settlements] in this zone, about 2,000 people whose fate we do not know. In addition, UAV and missile attacks have multiplied during this time. 194 missiles and UAVs were sent to the region, 147 were shot down. A residential nine-storey building was struck and 13 people were wounded.”
Smirnov added that the battles between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the Kursk Region have left 12 civilians dead and 121 wounded, 10 of them children. According to the governor, 180,000 people are slated for evacuation from the Kursk Region, with approximately 121,000 having already left the area.
As of August 12, the Russian government’s “military department” — Russia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) — has not not disclosed any details regarding the extent of the Ukrainian forces’ advance. Instead, the ministry continues to release statistics on purportedly destroyed Ukrainian equipment.
On August 11, the MoD wrote that it had managed to “foil attempts by enemy mobile groups with armored vehicles to break through deep into Russian territory” in the areas of Tolpino, Zhuravli and Obshchii Kolodez, and allegedly struck Ukrainian troops in the areas of Staraya Sorochina, Korenevo, Sudzha, and Borki. The ministry also claims that it was able to destroy a self-propelled launch vehicle of the Buk-M1 anti-aircraft missile system near Lyubimovka. This means that Russia’s MoD has actually recognized the fact of Ukrainian advances towards these settlements.
As noted by military expert Ian Matveev, the Defense Ministry's report speaks of an advance of 35 kilometers from the point of the Ukrainian breakthrough:
“It turns out that the advanced groups came to the Tolpino - Zhuravli - Obshchiy Kolodez boundary (35 kilometers from the breakthrough site), maintain positions in the area of Malaya Loknya (Staraya Sorochina is located there) and are moving along the border from Plekhov to Borki. They are expanding the zone of contact and can already transfer reinforcements from Myropillya [in Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast]. This is exactly what I was talking about in the video today. The fog of war is covering the entire combat zone and sudden troop movements are to be expected. Especially the Ukrainian ones who are holding the initiative.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry has also published video clips that were intended to testify to the Russian army's successes in battles with Ukrainian troops in the Kursk Region. However, these clips were filmed some time ago and in different locations from the ones claimed by Russia’s MoD, according to The Insider’s findings.