Zelensky says Ukrainian forces in full control of Russian town of Sudzha

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Thursday that his country’s forces have taken full control of Sudzha, the largest Russian city to fall to Ukrainian forces since the start of the war. Cross-border penetration More than a week ago.

Although its pre-war population was only about 5,000 people, Sodza is the administrative center. As for the border area in Russia’s Kursk region, it is larger than any of the other cities or settlements that Ukraine says it has taken. Since the invasion began on August 6.

Zelensky said Ukraine was setting up a military command office in Sudzha, suggesting Ukraine may be planning to stay in the Kursk region for the long term — or simply sending a signal to Moscow that it may be planning to do so. He did not elaborate on what functions the office might handle, though he said earlier this week that Ukraine would distribute humanitarian aid to Sudzha residents.

Russia did not immediately respond to Zelensky’s claims, but its defense ministry said earlier Thursday that Russian forces had prevented Ukrainian attempts to take control of several other communities.

the The surprise Ukrainian invasion has reshaped the war. The military operation caused chaos in the Kursk region, leading to the evacuation of more than 120,000 civilians, according to Russian authorities, and the capture of at least 100 Russian soldiers, according to Kiev.

Zelensky said one of the reasons for the incursion was to protect neighboring Ukrainian regions. “The more the Russian military presence in the border areas is destroyed, the closer real peace and security will be for our state,” he said Tuesday. “The Russian state must be held accountable for what it has done.”

Russia has had previous incursions into its territory during the war, but the Kursk invasion was notable for its size and speed, the reported involvement of veteran Ukrainian brigades in the fighting, and the length of time it remained inside Russia. According to Western military analysts, up to 10,000 Ukrainian troops are taking part in the operation.

This incursion also marks the first time foreign forces have invaded and taken control of Russian territory since Nazi Germany did so in World War II.

Although Russian military bloggers have reported that Russian reserves sent to the Kursk region have succeeded in slowing the Ukrainian advance, questions remain about whether the incursion could force Moscow to shift its forces to Kursk from front-line positions in eastern Ukraine, where it has made slow but steady advances this year.

As Kyiv announced its gains in Kursk on Thursday, officials in the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, which had a pre-war population of about 60,000, warned civilians to evacuate ahead of the fast-approaching Russian forces, which were about 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the city’s outskirts. If Russian forces capture Pokrovsk, where they have been trying to break through Ukrainian defenses for weeks, they will advance further toward their goal of capturing the entire Donetsk region of Ukraine.

White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby said Thursday that Russia had withdrawn some forces, including infantry units, from Ukraine and was moving them to Kursk, but the United States did not know how many were involved.

But a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment publicly, said Russia did not appear to have moved enough armored battalions or other combat power from the front line in Ukraine to Kursk, and that Moscow would need to move more troops to repel Kyiv’s forces.

Asked Thursday whether the Pentagon was considering limiting any support to Ukraine in light of the recent incursion, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said it did not affect what the United States was sending, but “you have seen us adjust and provide different capabilities over time, and we reserve that right to continue to do that.”

Russian military bloggers reported that small Ukrainian mechanized groups continued to probe Russian defenses. Satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press on Thursday showed that a Ukrainian drone attack on Russian air bases damaged at least two hangars and other areas.

Images taken by Planet Labs PBC on Wednesday showed two hangars at the Borisoglebsk air base hit, with a debris field surrounding them. It was not immediately clear what the hangars were used for. There also appeared to be possible damage to two fighter jets at the base.

Separately, at Savaslika air base, a burn mark can be seen off the runway in photos taken on Wednesday, though there is no apparent damage to fighter jets and other aircraft there.

By Thursday, the Ukrainian military claimed to control more than 80 towns and settlements in the Kursk region.

Acting Kursk Governor Alexei Smirnov on Thursday issued an order to evacuate the Glushkovo area, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) northwest of Sudzha. The order indicated that Ukrainian forces were gradually advancing toward the area.

At a facility for displaced people, Tatiana Anikeeva told Russian state television of her ordeal as she fled the fighting. “We were rushing from Sudzha… and hiding in the bushes. Volunteers were distributing water, food and bread to people on their way. The shelling was going on non-stop. The house was shaking,” she said.

Displaced people gathered in long lines waiting for food and other supplies. One man tried to pet his pet dog and try to comfort it, saying it felt nauseous and had lost its appetite.

Russia also declared a federal state of emergency in the Belgorod region, a day after declaring it a regional state of emergency in the region. The change in status suggests that officials believe the situation is deteriorating and hampering the region’s ability to provide aid.

Earlier this week, Ukraine’s top military officer, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Ukrainian forces had captured 1,000 square kilometers (about 390 square miles) of the Kursk region, though his claim could not be independently verified. The Kursk front lines have remained fluid, allowing both sides to maneuver easily, unlike the static front line in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have taken months to make incremental gains.

Russian officials have responded to Syrsky’s territorial claims. Speaking to reporters at the United Nations on Wednesday, Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky called the incursion “an absolutely reckless and crazy operation,” and said Ukraine’s goal of forcing Russia to withdraw its forces from eastern Ukraine had not been achieved because “we have enough forces there.”

Sudja owns a metering station for Russian natural gas flowing through Ukrainian pipelines and It represents about 3% of Europe’s imports.There were no indications of any disruption to the gas flow.