Ukraine continued its efforts on Friday. Bringing the war to Russian soil Fighting continues in Russia’s Kursk region, while “massive” drone strikes were also carried out on military and government targets in at least four other western regions.
Russia’s Lipetsk region, located just north of Kursk, was hit by Ukrainian drone strikes early on Friday that reportedly targeted an ammunition depot and warehouse.
About 700 Russian guided bombs East2West Media sources told Fox News Digital that the planes were reportedly destroyed in the attack.
Local governor Igor Artamonov also said that power supplies were disrupted after an energy facility was attacked in the attack, as first reported by Politico EU.
Russian state media further reported that a military airfield in the region also caught fire following the attack, which reportedly intercepted 19 drones.
This still image from a video taken on August 7, 2024 shows a view of destroyed buildings in the city of Sudzha after Ukrainian troops invaded the Kursk region of Russia. (MIC Izvestia/IZ.RU via Reuters)
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According to local Ukrainian reports, it is unclear how many drones were shot down in the Lipetsk region, and further reports suggested that another 26 drones were shot down in the Belograd region, which is located north of Ukraine’s Kharkiv region and east of Kursk.
of Russia Defence Ministry reportedly claimed 75 drones were shot down overnight in several areas along Ukraine’s shared border with Russia, and an additional five drones were reportedly shot down over Russian-occupied Crimea in Ukraine’s south.
Multiple reports on Friday confirmed that Moscow had declared a “federal-level” state of emergency in Kursk, and the Defense Ministry acknowledged that Ukrainian forces were advancing toward the strategic town of Sudzha, while reports from open sources this week suggested that Ukrainian forces had already seized a key military checkpoint and the Sudzha gas distribution station.
A video released by pro-Russian military bloggers also circulated on Friday, showing the remains of a Russian convoy that was ambushed by Ukrainian forces on Thursday night. The graphic footage showed burned-out vehicles, some of which were filled with the bodies of dead Russian soldiers.
More than 400 Russian soldiers were killed in a single HIMARS missile attack in the Kursk region on August 9 while moving in to fight Ukrainian forces. (Photo provided by East2West)
It is unclear what Ukraine’s primary objective is in attacking Russian targets in the five regions, though sources have told Fox News Digital that Kiev is trying to divert Russian resources to the front lines by bringing the fighting to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s homeland.
Russia fears security within its own borders will be weakened as Moscow focuses its military targets on the eastern part of Ukraine, where it has made some gains this year.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has remained silent on the attack on Russia, as is in line with Kiev’s policy of silence amid ongoing operations, though in his address on Thursday night he said, “Russia has brought war to our land, and it must realize what it has done.”
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The Biden administration earlier this year gave up his opposition Kiev is moving to attack Russian targets outside Ukraine using US-supplied weapons.
The damaged Sudzha border crossing in Oleshnya, Kursk Region, is shown in this satellite image obtained by Reuters on August 8, 2024. (Reuters)
Reports in May said the White House had given tacit approval to defend Ukraine against Russian missile attacks. allowing it to attack military targets Just across the border from Kharkiv.
But according to comments by Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh on Thursday, the approval was explicitly for any strategic target beyond Ukraine’s shared border with Russia, provided it Within Russian territory,
“The dynamics on the battlefield have changed, they’ve actually been able to push the Russians further back into Russian territory,” he said. “As (Ukraine sees) attacks coming from across the border, they need to have the ability to respond. And so you’re seeing some measures of retaliation from across the border.”
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Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks to Acting Governor of the Kursk Region Alexei Smirnov via a video link outside Moscow, Russia, August 8, 2024. (Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via Reuters)
But when asked to what extent Ukraine is allowed to carry out “cross-border” attacks, he remained silent.
“We do not support long-range strikes into Russia,” she told reporters. “I’m not going to put any specific limits on that.”
“I’m not going to draw a circular map for you here about where they can and cannot attack, but we have been very clear with the Ukrainians,” she said.
