KYIV, Ukraine — Russia is pushing back against Ukraine’s largest assault into Russian territory since the start of the war, sending troop reinforcements, establishing strict security measures in border areas and conducting airstrikes, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. One of the strikes on Ukrainian troops involved a thermobaric missile that causes a blast wave and suffocates those in its path, the ministry said.
But even as Russia has halted the quick advances made by Ukrainian troops who launched a surprise cross-border attack five days ago into the southwestern region of Kursk, Ukrainian forces seem to be holding ground. They claimed Saturday to have captured a small village in the neighboring Belgorod region, and analysts say their forces control most of the Kursk town of Sudzha, about 6 miles from the border.
What this means for Ukraine is not yet clear. The decision by Ukrainian forces to cross the border into Russia apparently surprised not just Russia, but also the United States, other Western partners and analysts.
Some have speculated that Ukraine hopes to draw Russian troops away from the front lines in Ukraine, giving battle-weary Ukrainian troops a needed rest, although analysts say that has not happened.
But for Russia, the fallout from this past week’s incursion has been a public black eye for President Vladimir Putin.
Andrei Gurulyov, a retired military officer who is now a member of parliament, on Friday condemned Russia’s response and level of preparedness.
“There is no military system in place for guarding the state border, no reserves and no second lines of defense,” he said on Telegram, adding, “If the Ukrainian Armed Forces spent two months preparing for this, how did we miss it?”
The conflict also threatens to spill over into neighboring Belarus: On Saturday, Belarus, a Russian ally, said it was sending more troops to protect its border with Ukraine, claiming that Ukrainian drones had violated its airspace during the incursion into Russia.
Since launching the cross-border attack Tuesday, Ukrainian officials have said little publicly about it, aside from pointing out that the country’s allies have supported the offensive, at least tacitly.
On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine went further, offering his biggest acknowledgment of the incursion into Russia so far. He referred to the fact that Ukraine had pushed the war “out into our aggressor’s territory” and thanked the military for making it happen.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
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