After completing the analysis of the collected data, experts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) announced a remarkable news: the Ukrainian army has advanced 10 km deep into Russia’s Kursk Region. This is not only an important step forward, but also opens up unexpected changes in the current war picture. The conflict, which was already tense and complicated, has now entered a new phase full of formulas and potential drama, creating international discussion that constantly questions the next developments and the deep tasks of this change.
The assessment, based on footage from authentic locations on August 6 and 7, outlines a dramatic war picture. The video recorded images of Ukrainian armored vehicles advancing deep along the 38K-030 highway, only about 10 km from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
The size and deployment of Ukrainian forces in Kursk do not make it clear that they have breached at least two lines of Russian defense while still occupying a strategically important point. These moves not only change the terrain of the battlefield but also raise major questions about the evolution of the conflict.
Earlier, on the morning of June 8, Ukraine launched an offensive into Russia’s Kursk Region. Fighting continued overnight into August 7, as Ukrainian forces tried to advance northwest of the border town of Sudzha, 530 km southwest of Moscow.
Russia declares state of emergency in border area The acting governor of the Kursk Region, Alexey Smirnov, has declared a state of emergency in the border area amid an offensive by Ukrainian forces into Russia.
The declaration of a state of emergency will restrict access to some areas in Kursk.
The Russian National Guard said it had increased security around the nearby Kursk nuclear plant and its four reactors.
Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov reported to President Vladimir Putin that Russian forces had repelled an attack by 1,000 Ukrainian troops and would push them back to the border. This is more than three times the number given by the Russian Defense Ministry on August 6.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military has adopted a strategy of absolute silence. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in his speech on the evening of August 7, did not mention the attack. He called on Ukrainian troops to continue attacking across the front and weaken Russian forces.
The Ukrainian General Staff also did not mention the offensive in its regular report. It said fighting had escalated in Ukraine’s Sumy District, which borders Russia’s Kursk District.
US asks Ukraine for more information on Kursk attack White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said the US is asking Ukraine for more information about the operation in Kursk. Washington said it had no prior knowledge of Ukraine’s plans for an attack.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller reiterated that Washington’s regulations on Ukraine’s use of US weapons remain in force and that Ukraine’s actions “do not violate our policies”.
Ukrainian forces are attacking the Kursk region on Russian territory (Illustration: The Times).
Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov wrote on Telegram that US statements about Ukraine’s actions were “absurd”.
Russian military bloggers describe the situation in the Kursk region as more serious than official reports. Some say Ukraine has turned a final page. Russia has adjusted the energy reserves for Kursk to strengthen its defenses.
Some bloggers say Ukraine may be planning to enter the Kursk nuclear plant.
Both Kiev and Moscow say they have no civilian targets in the conflict.
Russia fires cluster at Ukrainian armored steel pipe The Russian Defense Ministry released video today, August 7, of a missile attack on a Ukrainian armored steel pipe that was concentrated in a wooded area.
The video, recorded by a drone, shows several Ukrainian armored vehicles gathered near a production area between two fields.
The Russian Defense Ministry said the attack was carried out against Ukrainian “combat vehicles and special vehicles” in “the area bordering the Kursk Region (Russia)”. The Russian Iskander-M system fired a ballistic missile containing a cluster of warheads at the Ukrainian convoy. The extent of the damage caused by the attack is not yet clear, but a tank can be seen speeding to a stop in the middle of the server road. Ukraine’s oilseed processing plant damaged by drone attack: Pravda news agency reported on August 8 that the Kernel oilseed processing plant – one of Ukraine’s largest agricultural companies – was damaged by a drone attack. Kernel management said that this is the company’s largest plant in the west of the country. “Work at the facility has been suspended, and the fire has been extinguished. No casualties have been reported,” the company said in a statement. The extent of the damage is being assessed.
Ukraine shoots down several missiles, drones The Ukrainian Air Force said on August 8 that the Russian military attacked Ukraine two Iskander-M ballistic missiles, two Kh-59 air-to-surface missiles, four attack drones on the night of August 7-8. Ukrainian air defense systems and electronic warfare units shot down two Kh-59 guided missiles and four attack drones in the Odesa, Kherson and Kirovohrad provinces.
