For the first time, Ukrainian officials have addressed the ongoing military actions in the border area of Russia's Kursk region, now in its third day. The root cause of "any escalation, shelling, military actions, forced evacuation, and destruction of normal forms of life," including in Russia's Kursk and Belgorod regions, is "exclusively unambiguous Russian aggression," wrote Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, on social platform X.

Ukrainian politician Podolyak attributed the responsibility for the conflict's escalation on Russian soil to President Vladimir Putin, describing Putin as the architect of Russia's "self-destruction" policy. According to Podolyak, Russia acts as if it is not subject to restrictive legal norms and can attack neighboring countries with impunity, while hypocritically demanding the inviolability of its own territory in war, where "the aggressor inevitably reaps its own consequences"

Meanwhile, Russia's Ministry of Defense asserts that units of the "North" military group have prevented Ukrainian forces from advancing in the Sudzha and Korenevo districts of the Kursk region. Attempts by individual units to break through deeper into the region have been thwarted, according to the Russian defense agency. The statement also mentions that airstrikes are being conducted on advancing Ukrainian reserves in the Sumy region.

Acting Deputy Governor of Kursk, Andrey Belostotsky, claimed on the pro-government First Channel that the situation in the region is stable and under control, and that the enemy "has not advanced an inch" and is "retreating instead."

At the same time, the press service of the Ukrainian state project "I Want to Find" reported that on August 7, at least 32 Russian soldiers surrendered in the Kursk region. The captured included both conscripts and contract soldiers, as well as mobilized servicemen.

According to Meduza, Russian military bloggers have reported new successes by Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk region. Pro-military Telegram channels claim that Ukrainian units have taken the outskirts of Sudzha city and approached the settlement of Korenevo. Authorities in Russia and Kursk have not commented on these reports.

The news outlet Agentstvo reported that within 24 hours, Ukrainian troops managed to breach two lines of defense structures built since the onset of the full-scale war in the Kursk region, which had cost 15 billion rubles. The risk of an armed invasion of the Kursk region from Ukraine remains low, but continuous efforts are being made to enhance the region's defenses, stated the former regional head Roman Starovoit in January 2023.

In Belgorod, officials reported one fatality following shelling in Shebekino. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov stated that despite doctors' efforts, the man succumbed to his injuries in an ambulance en route to a hospital. Another resident was injured in the attack.

Fighting has been ongoing in the Sudzha and Korenevo districts of the Kursk region since August 6. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense and military experts, units of the Ukrainian army have entered Russian territory, capturing several Russian conscripts. The Russian army also lost a Ka-52 helicopter, downed by an FPV drone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin labeled the incursion of Ukrainian forces, which crossed into the Kursk region roughly 500 km from Moscow, as a "massive provocation". During a meeting with national security officials, Chief of General Staff Valery Gerasimov reported on the Ukrainian forces' advancements. According to his report, up to a thousand Ukrainian troops were involved in the attack on Sudzha district. On August 8, Russia's Ministry of Defense claimed that Ukrainian forces lost 660 soldiers at the start of the assault on the Kursk region.

The United States stated it has reached out to Ukrainian military officials to obtain more information regarding the objectives of the operation in the Kursk region.

  War in Ukraine, Kursk, Sudzha

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