Ukraine offensive in Russia appears even larger than just Kursk region

SUMY, Ukraine - Ukraine solidified its control over the parts of Russia’s Kursk region it has taken in a 10-day offensive, announcing Thursday the appointment of a military commander to manage the area as well as new battlefield successes.

In the city of Sumy, not far from where Ukrainian forces surprised the world by storming into Russia, wounded soldiers also described operations in the Belgorod region to the south, suggesting an even larger scale to the offensive, which is changing perceptions abroad that Ukraine has been on the losing end of the conflict.

In contrast to the relatively easier time had by Ukraine’s forces in Kursk - including news of another 100 Russian troops captured, the intelligence service announced Thursday - the fighting in Belgorod has been fierce.

Three soldiers, including one commander, described how after months of being deployed along the border, they were sent into Russia. They crossed in a fleet of armored vehicles in broad daylight four days ago, said Hacker, 24, speaking on the condition that he only be identified by his first name or call sign, in keeping with Ukrainian military rules.

As they prepared to cross the border at Kolotilovka, in the same location where prisoners of war have previously been exchanged, he recalled thinking to himself that this was a crazy move.

In contrast to the quick advances through Kursk, the troops in Belgorod appeared prepared for their arrival. The area was fortified with dragon’s teeth antitank obstacles and heavily mined, and troops came under intense attack by artillery, drones and airstrikes almost immediately.

The Ukrainians pushed forward about six miles, the soldiers said, seizing abandoned Russian troop positions. But the fighting remained intense. “All our group was injured the day we arrived,” Hacker said. He feared he might be killed in Russia, “because we didn’t know their territory.”

“We were working blind,” he added. Russia has not acknowledged ground fighting in Belgorod, but the governor there did declare a state of emergency earlier in the week.

Many troops were concussed or heavily wounded, while others were killed and had to be left behind, Hacker said. Shelling remained so intense that survivors had to take cover in Russian trenches for days, until an armored vehicle arrived to evacuate them for medical treatment early Thursday.

Among the six who were evacuated was commander Serhii, 48, whose right leg was badly wounded by a drone more than a day earlier. He underwent surgery immediately upon arrival in Ukraine on Thursday. “We were shelled by everything,” he said.

The grim fighting was in sharp contrast to an almost celebratory mood by Ukrainian officials, with army commander Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky announcing Thursday the appointment of a military commander for the Kursk region “to maintain law and order and ensure the basic needs of the population.” The announcement echoes Russia’s own moves to administer the parts of Ukraine it occupies.

The intelligence service also said that another 100 Russian soldiers were taken in an operation it described as the “largest mass capture” of enemy soldiers at one time, amid talk that they will be exchanged for Ukrainian captives.

Speaking about the operation, which took place the previous day, a Ukrainian intelligence officer said that special forces from Ukraine’s state security service, or SBU, “captured and cleared a sprawling … and well-fortified stronghold of a company,” taking prisoner 102 Russian servicemen.

The captured soldiers were from Russia’s 488th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment and the Akhmat unit, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

A video provided by the official showed dozens of soldiers lying in a line, face down in an open field. Their faces and battle insignia were not visible. The Washington Post could not independently verify the footage.

A Ukrainian official said Russia has been in contact about a prisoner swap - something it had promised to discontinue after the incursion into the southern Kursk region took place.

“There was an initiative from the Russian counterpart regarding this issue. I really hope that, despite the public statements by Russian media that allegedly the Russians have decided to halt exchanges, we are still exchanging information at this time,” Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament’s human rights commissioner, told local media late Wednesday.

In a video address Tuesday evening, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “hundreds of Russian soldiers have already surrendered.”

Ukrainian officials have said that a main reason for the surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region was to halt cross-border missile attacks and shelling into Ukraine’s neighboring Sumy region.

Ukraine was creating a “security zone” in Kursk, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said in a Telegram post Wednesday.

“There are Russian civilians within the specified zone,” Vereshchuk wrote. “They are under the protection of international humanitarian law, with which Ukraine fully complies.”

Russia’s efforts to take back ground in Kursk, meanwhile, have been hampered by infighting between different military and security units, according to nationalist military bloggers who are blaming various military commanders and calling for their dismissal.

After the initial swift advance, Ukraine’s progress in Kursk region has slowed as it has faced tougher resistance. Maxar satellite images show Russian forces digging trenches in effort to halt any possible advance toward Lgov, west of the city of Kursk.

On Thursday, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov, a civilian economist appointed in May for his capacity to ramp up military production and enhance efficiency, announced plans at a meeting of regional governors to increase supplies of military hardware and personnel to the Kursk region.

The meeting appeared to be tacit admission of inadequate personnel, hardware and poor coordination in the 10 days since the attack. Belousov said the military had prepared a plan “to enhance the efficiency of troop control in coordination with other security agencies” in the region.

On Thursday an additional district in Kursk region, Glushkovo, with a population of 18,000, was evacuated, taking the total number ordered to evacuate to around 180,000.