Ukraine forces breach Kursk, Kremlin orders troop withdrawal
14 August 2024 06:23
Ukrainian offensive on Kursk prompts Kremlin to withdraw troops from Ukraine. They are needed to defend Russia, reports the American daily "Wall Street Journal".
Russia is withdrawing some of its troops from Ukraine in response to the offensive launched by Ukrainian forces last week, reported "Wall Street Journal" on Tuesday, citing anonymous U.S. officials.
The paper emphasizes that this is the first sign that the Ukrainian invasion is forcing Moscow to reorganize its own forces. At the same time, it is not specified how many Russian units are involved, as the U.S. "is still trying to determine this." However, according to Ukrainian army spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy, it is a "some" number of units.
Similar reports surfaced a day earlier from Politico. Citing a Ukrainian army spokesman, the portal reported that Russia withdrew some troops from southern Ukraine back to its territory to try to repel the growing offensive from Kyiv forces.
Ukrainian offensive on Kursk
About 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers breached the Russian border into the Kursk region last week with tanks and armoured vehicles under the cover of drones and artillery, reported Reuters on Thursday, citing Russian officials. It was the first incursion of foreign troops into Russian territory since 1941. A state of emergency was declared on Wednesday, August 7, in the Kursk region.
The assault continues. Ukrainian soldiers managed to push the Russians out of, among others, Sudzha, Guyeva, Gornoly, Gogolivka, Rubanshchyna, Nizhny Klin, and Mykolaiv-Daryva.
Volodymyr Zelensky called the operation a "security issue," explaining that it was about liberating the border area.
