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Russia claims counter-offensive into Ukraine's Sumy region

Russia claims counter-offensive into Ukraine's Sumy region

Yahoo09-03-2025
Russia on Sunday announced it had captured territory in Ukraine's Sumy region for the first time since 2022 in a cross-border offensive as Kyiv struggles to hold onto territory in Russia's neighbouring Kursk region.
Russia also claimed the recapture of four new villages in its Kursk border region as its troops pushed on against Ukrainian soldiers who had seized territory there.
Kyiv wants to use the territory it holds in Kursk as a potential bargaining chip in any peace negotiations.
US and Ukrainian negotiators are set to meet for talks in Saudi Arabia next week, with US President Donald Trump's administration keen to secure a ceasefire and a "framework" for a peace agreement.
The United States has cut off Ukraine's access to intelligence sharing and satellite data in a bid to force it to negotiate.
The Russian defence ministry said in a briefing that its forces, in a counter-offensive, had "liberated" the small village of Novenke in Sumy near the border with Kursk.
Russia briefly occupied parts of Sumy at the start of its all-out invasion in 2022 but has not conquered any territory there since.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in mid-February that his forces had entered this part of northeastern Ukraine, a claim branded a "lie" by Kyiv, although it has acknowledged isolated attacks.
Novenke is located about a kilometre (less than one mile) from Kursk and Russian military bloggers said its capture brought troops closer to blocking a major Ukrainian supply route.
Kyiv has not yet commented on Russia's claim to have captured Novenke.
- Incursion's 'final phase' -
Ukraine's state Centre for Countering Disinformation on Saturday denied reports of a "massive breakthrough" by Russia, saying its own forces were destroying small groups trying to cross the border.
Russia on Sunday announced the recapture of the villages of Lebedevka, Malaya Loknya, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye and Kositsa in Kursk, bringing its troops closer to taking back the Ukraine-held town of Sudzha, about 10 kilometres (six miles) away.
Ukraine launched its incursion into Kursk last August, seizing territory as a buffer zone.
But since then, Russia has taken back more than two-thirds of the territory.
A Russian army commander, Apti Alaudinov, wrote on Telegram on Saturday that "all units have launched a large-scale offensive across all areas on the Kursk section of the front".
A Russian military blogger, Yevgeny Poddubny, on Sunday wrote that the Kursk incursion "is in its final phase".
Prominent Ukrainian journalist Yuriy Butusov wrote on Sunday that holding onto the Kursk territory was no longer tactically justified.
- Gas pipe -
Ukraine's General Staff on Saturday confirmed reports that Russian special forces had used an underground gas pipe to reach the outskirts of the main town controlled by Ukraine in the region, Sudzha.
Kyiv said its aerial reconnaissance had spotted the troops, who were "being detected, blocked and destroyed".
Russian military bloggers wrote that troops crawled some 15 kilometres (nine miles) through a pipe with a diameter of 1.4 metres.
They hailed the attack as a feat, said the troops had achieved their objective, and that fighting was ongoing in Sudzha.
Russia supplied gas to Europe via Ukraine until January of this year and Sudzha was a hub for transferring and measuring gas.
Russia also claimed the capture of another village in east Ukraine.
Its troops are advancing in the Donetsk region and are close to crossing a symbolic border into the central Dnipropetrovsk region, which so far has been free of fighting.
The defence ministry said troops had taken the village of Kostyantynopil, around 13 kilometres from the regional frontier and 50 kilometres west of the large Russian-held city of Donetsk.
Russia's advances come as the prospect of peace talks appears increasingly likely, with Ukrainian and US negotiators meeting next week in Saudi Arabia.
US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff said his team wanted "to get down a framework for a peace agreement and an initial ceasefire as well" at the talks set for Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine is "fully committed to constructive dialogue", while wanting its interests to be "taken into account in the right way".
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Tens of thousands flee their homes as Thailand and Cambodia clash
Tens of thousands flee their homes as Thailand and Cambodia clash

NBC News

time39 minutes ago

  • NBC News

Tens of thousands flee their homes as Thailand and Cambodia clash

SURIN, Thailand — Tens of thousands of people sought refuge as border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia entered its third day Saturday, heightening fears of an extended conflict with the total death toll reaching 32. The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting behind closed doors late Friday in New York, while Malaysia, which chairs the 10-nation regional bloc that includes both countries, called for an end to hostilities and offered to mediate. The council did not issue a statement but a council diplomat said all 15 members called on the parties to deescalate, show restraint and resolve the dispute peacefully. The council also urged the regional bloc, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations known as ASEAN, to help resolve the border fighting, the diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity because the meeting was private. Cambodia's U.N. 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The Thai Health Ministry on Friday said more than 58,000 have fled from villages to temporary shelters in four affected border provinces, while Cambodian authorities said more than 23,000 people have evacuated from areas near the border. The latest flare-up in a long-running border dispute between the two countries has killed at least 19 people in Thailand — mostly civilians —while Cambodia said Saturday that 12 people more people have killed on its side, bringing its death toll to 13. Thailand's acting prime minister, Phumtham Wechayachai, said Friday that Cambodia may be guilty of war crimes due to the deaths of civilians and damage caused to a hospital. He said Thailand had exercised the 'utmost restraint and patience in the face of provocations and aggression' from Cambodia. Tensions over a disputed border area erupted into fighting after a land mine explosion along the border wounded five Thai soldiers on Wednesday. Clashes break out The Thai military reported clashes early Friday in multiple areas along the border, including near the ancient Ta Muen Thom temple claimed by both sides. Associated Press reporters near the border could hear sounds of artillery from early morning hours. The Thai army said Cambodian forces had used heavy artillery and Russian-made BM-21 rocket launchers, prompting what Thai officials described as 'appropriate supporting fire' in return. Thailand said six of its soldiers and 13 civilians were killed while 29 soldiers and 30 civilians were wounded. Early Saturday, Cambodian Gen. Maly Socheata, spokesperson for the Ministry of National Defense, told reporters Saturday that seven more civilians and five soldiers have died from two days of fighting. It earlier reported one fatality — a man who was killed when the pagoda he was hiding in got hit by Thai rockets. The Cambodian Education Ministry claimed that on Friday two Thai rockets had hit a school compound in Oddar Meanchey but caused no injuries. It said all schools in the province have been closed. The Thai army denied it targeted civilian sites in Cambodia, and accused Cambodia of using 'human shields' by positioning their weapons near residential areas. Thousands flee villages As the fighting intensified, villagers on both sides have been caught in the crossfire, leading many to flee. Around 600 people took shelter at a gymnasium in a university in Surin, Thailand, about 50 miles from the border. Evacuees sat in groups, on mats and blankets, and queued for food and drinks. Seamstress Pornpan Sooksai was accompanied by four cats in two fabric carriers. She said she was doing laundry at her home near Ta Muen Thom temple when shelling began Thursday. 'I just heard, boom, boom. We already prepared the cages, clothes and everything, so we ran and carried our things to the car. 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Some villagers earlier dug holes to create makeshift underground bunkers, covering them with wood, tarpaulin and zinc sheets to shield themselves from shelling. Families with children were seen packing their belongings on home-made tractors to evacuate, though a few men refused to leave. A remote Buddhist temple surrounded by rice fields accommodated several hundred evacuated villagers. Women rested in hammocks, some cradling babies, while children ran about. Makeshift plastic tents were being set up under the trees. Veng Chin, 74, pleaded with both governments to negotiate a settlement 'so that I can return to my home and work on the farm.'

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