MOSCOW, Sept 19 (Askume) – Russian troops are launching an offensive against thousands of Ukrainian soldiers who crossed the Russian border last month and seized two villages in the western Kursk region, a senior commander said.
On August 6, Ukraine launched its largest foreign attack on Russia since World War II, attacking the western region of Kursk with heavy weapons including drones and Western-made weapons.
Major General Apti Artynov, commander of the Chechen Akhmat special forces and deputy minister of the military and political department of the Russian Defense Ministry, said that Russia had captured Nikolayev-Dalino and Dalino.
These villages are about 15 kilometres (9 miles) from the front line established by Ukrainian forces in August, providing a position for Russian forces to attack Sverdlikovo, which the Ukrainian army uses as a logistical base.
“Our whole front has advanced,” Alaudinov said, adding that Russian troops were also advancing in eastern Ukraine.
Russia sent thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022 and earlier this month launched a major counteroffensive against Ukrainian forces west of the lands it occupies.
The Russian Defence Ministry said Ukraine was trying to break through the Russian lines at another point east of the border to distract its forces from the main offensive in the region.
Russia, which controls about 18% of Ukraine, has also advanced into eastern Ukraine and seized the city of Ukrainsk on Tuesday.
