The Russian military has begun a large-scale counteroffensive in the country’s western Kursk region, part of which has been occupied by Ukrainian troops since August, independent news outlet Ukrainska Pravda reported on Saturday.
About 100 Russian servicemen managed to enter Ukrainian-controlled territory near the city of Sudzha using a disused gas pipeline, Ukrainska Pravda said.
Ukrainian officer Myroslav Hay confirmed that a “large group of saboteurs” had indeed attempted to enter the Sudzha district via a gas pipeline on Saturday, but said that Ukrainian paratroopers had “blocked the exit from the tunnel and destroyed about 80% of the group”, according to news outlet Suspilne.
Pro-Kremlin Telegram channel Dva Mayora, meanwhile, wrote that the storming of Sudzha — the largest town in the Ukrainian-occupied area of the Kursk region — had begun, while Akhmat Special Forces commander Apti Alaudinov described the action as a large-scale offensive, saying “Russian warriors” had decided to give the country’s women a gift to mark International Women’s Day, which falls on Saturday.
Russian state TV military correspondent Yevgeny Poddubny reported that Russian units had “launched an offensive directly on Sudzha”, adding that the operation to liberate the Kursk region appeared “to be entering its final stage”.
The Russian Defence Ministry reported that Russian troops in the Kursk region had already recaptured the villages of Viktorovka, Nikolaevka and Staraya Sorochina.
The Telegraph said that up to 10,000 Ukrainian soldiers could now be surrounded. The Ukrainian forces in the region are divided into two groups, connected by a corridor about 1 kilometre long and under 500 metres wide at its narrowest point, according to Deep State, which provides up-to-date maps of the fighting.
However, Ukrainian news outlet RBC-Ukraine wrote that the situation was “not yet catastrophic”, and denied reports of Ukrainian troops being encircled.