Ukraine Claims It Captured Strategic Russian Town in Kursk Region
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said his country’s forces have taken full control of the strategic Russian town of Sudzha in the Kursk region in their incursion into Russian territory.
Zelenskyy also said on Thursday that a military commander’s office is being set up in the town, which had a prewar population of around 5,000 people.
Sudzha holds a measuring station for Russian natural gas that flows through Ukrainian pipelines to Europe.
Russia did not immediately respond to Zelenskyy’s statement, but its defense ministry said earlier Thursday that Russian forces had blocked attempts to take several other communities, Al Jazeera reported.
On Wednesday, Russian officials had also denied that Ukraine captured the town.
Earlier in the day, Kursk acting Governor Alexei Smirnov ordered the evacuation of the Glushkovo region, about 45km (28 miles) northwest of Sudzha, as Ukraine’s daring incursion entered its second week.
The evacuation order suggests Ukrainian forces are gradually advancing toward the area. Authorities say more than 120,000 residents in the Kursk region have already been moved.
Russia also declared a federal-level state of emergency in the Belgorod region. A regional-level state of emergency had been declared a day earlier in Belgorod, and the change in status suggests officials believe the situation is worsening and hampering the region’s ability to deliver aid.
Washington has supplied Ukraine with tens of billions of dollars in military aid to deter the Russian invasion.