Ukraine fighting 10,000 Russian troops in Kursk region, Ukrainian commander says
FILE PHOTO: Colonel general Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, attends an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine January 12, 2024. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko/File Photo
KYIV - Around 10,000 Russian soldiers are fighting in Russia's Kursk region, about 90 square kilometers (35 square miles) of which is controlled by Ukraine, Ukraine's top military commander said.
"We control about 90 square kilometers of territory in the Hlushkov district of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation, and these are our preemptive actions in response to a possible enemy attack," Oleksandr Syrskyi said without elaborating, in remarks released by his office for publication on Sunday.
The Ukrainian military said the activity in this area prevented Russia from sending a significant number of its forces to Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk, where some of the heaviest fighting has taken place in the more than three-year-old full-scale invasion.
Syrskyi's troops are repelling Russian forces along the frontline, which stretches for about 1,200 km, where the situation remains difficult, the Ukrainian military said.
Russian gains have accelerated in May and June, though the Ukrainian military says it comes at a cost of high Russian casualties in small assault-group attacks.
While the military says its troops repelled Russian approaches toward Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk region borders last week, the pressure continues in the country's eastern and northern regions.
The Russian military also continues its deadly drone and missile attacks on the Ukrainian cities further from the front, prompting Ukraine to innovate its approaches to air defence.
Ukraine's military said it currently destroys around 82% of Shahed-type drones launched by Russia but requires more surface-to-air missile systems to defend critical infrastructure and cities.
The military said the air force was also working on developing the use of light aircraft and drone interceptors in repelling Russian assaults which can involve hundreds of drones.
Ukraine also relies on its long-range capabilities to deal damage to economic and military targets on Russian territory, increasing the cost of war to Moscow.
Between January and May, Ukraine dealt over $1.3 billion in direct losses in the Russian oil refining and fuel production industry, energy and transport supplies as well as strategic communications, the Ukrainian military said.
It also dealt at least $9.5 billion more of indirect damages through the destabilization of the oil refining industry, disruption of logistics and forced shutdown of enterprises, it added.
It was not clear whether the Ukrainian military included the damages from its operation "Spider's Web" which damaged Russian warplanes -- and Ukraine said cost billions in losses -- in the estimates. REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
28 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Taiwan is 'of course' a country, president says in rebuke to China
Taiwan is 'of course' a country, president says in rebuke to China TAIPEI - Taiwan is "of course" a country and China lacks both the historical evidence and legal proof to back up its sovereignty claims, President Lai Ching-te said on Sunday in a strong rebuke to Beijing and its stepped up political and military pressure. China says democratically-governed Taiwan is "sacred" Chinese territory that has belonged to the country since ancient times, and that the island is one of its provinces with no right to be called a state. Lai and his government strongly reject that view, and have offered talks with China multiple times but have been rejected. China calls Lai a "separatist". Giving the first of 10 speeches in a series called "uniting the country", Lai drew on Taiwan's history, including the millennia-long connection of its indigenous people to other Austronesians, like native Hawaiians, to show what he said was Taiwan's separate and distinct development from China. Taiwan's people have a record of opposing invasion, like uprisings against Japan's 1895-1945 colonial rule, and under the last imperial Chinese dynasty, the Qing, Taiwan was only considered a Chinese province for eight years, he added. "Of course Taiwan is a country," he said at a speech to a Taiwan branch of Rotary International, pointing also to its presidential elections. "But China says no, that Taiwan is not a sovereign country." China's Taiwan's Affairs Office did not respond to a request for comment outside of office hours. China says the 1971 United Nations resolution, which took away Taipei's seat in the body and gave it to Beijing, is one of the legal bases of its claims. Lai, who in March called China a "hostile foreign force", said it was "totally wrong" for Beijing to say that U.N. resolution had anything to do with Taiwan's sovereignty as it was only about which government was represented at the body. China's threat to Taiwan is real, added Lai, pointing to its daily military activities around the island. "Taiwan's future can only be decided by its 23 million people - does everyone approve of this?" he said, to a round of applause. The defeated Republic of China government fled to Taiwan in 1949 after losing a civil war with Mao Zedong's communists, and that remains the island's formal name. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
29 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Pope Leo urges international diplomacy to prevent ‘irreparable abyss'
FILE PHOTO: Pope Leo XIV holds a Jubilee audience on the occasion of the Jubilee of Sport, at St. Peter's Basilica, at the Vatican June 14, 2025. REUTERS/Yara Nardi/File Photo VATICAN CITY - Pope Leo on June 22 said the international community must strive to avoid war that risks opening an 'irreparable abyss', and that diplomacy should take the place of conflict. US forces struck Iran's three main nuclear sites overnight, joining an Israeli assault in a major new escalation of conflict in the Middle East, as Tehran vowed to defend itself. 'Every member of the international community has a moral responsibility: to stop the tragedy of war before it becomes an irreparable abyss,' Pope Leo said during his weekly prayer with pilgrims. 'No armed victory can compensate for the pain of mothers, the fear of children, the stolen future. Let diplomacy silence the weapons, let nations chart their future with peace efforts, not with violence and bloody conflicts,' he added. 'In this dramatic scenario, which includes Israel and Palestine, the daily suffering of the population, especially in Gaza and other territories, risks being forgotten, where the need for adequate humanitarian support is becoming increasingly urgent,' Pope Leo said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
29 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Belarus opposition couple to keep fighting for release of political prisoners
Belarus opposition leader Syarhei Tsikhanouski hugs wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya after, she said that, he was released from prison in this screengrab taken from a social media video released on June 21, 2025. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya via X/via REUTERS Belarus opposition leader Syarhei Tsikhanouski greets his wife Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya after, she said that, he was released from prison in this screengrab taken from a social media video released on June 21, 2025. Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya via X/via REUTERS VILNIUS - A leading Belarusian opposition figure freed from prison by President Alexander Lukashenko said on Sunday his wife would continue to lead the exiled movement, and urged supporters to keep fighting for change and the release of political prisoners. In a U.S.-brokered deal, Siarhei Tsikhanouski was pardoned by Lukashenko on Saturday after more than five years behind bars and driven across the border to Lithuania for a reunion with his wife, Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya. "He's alive, thank God we are together, and together we continue our fight for our homeland and the freedom of the rest of the political prisoners," Tsikhanouskaya told a press conference in Vilnius on Sunday. "I want to thank (U.S. President Donald) Trump and his administration. Without their help, this moment would have been impossible," she said. Lithuania said on Saturday 13 other prisoners had also been released after talks between Lukashenko and U.S. special envoy Keith Kellogg, in the most significant move so far by Lukashenko to try to ease his isolation from the West. Tsikhanouski, 46, a video blogger who was arrested in 2020 when planning to run against Lukashenko for the presidency, called on Belarusians to carry on fighting against the president. "I want to tell all Belarusians: if you were waiting for a sign, here it is," he said, raising a fist. But Tsikhanouski added that he would not seek to become leader of the exiled movement following his release. "The leader of the opposition is Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, my wife," he said, breaking into tears as he described how their young daughter had not recognised him when they were reunited on Saturday. "Now (the children) are getting used to the feeling that their father is here again," Tsikhanouskaya said. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
