Ukraine has announced that it is making "good progress" in the Russian border region of Kursk and confirmed its intention to establish a "buffer zone" there to protect itself from shelling, alongside "humanitarian corridors" aimed at delivering aid to Russian civilians. On August 6, Ukrainian forces launched a major attack on the Kursk region, which borders Ukraine, catching Russian troops off guard with the largest foreign military assault on Russian territory since the end of World War II.
President Zelensky stated on Telegram, "In the Kursk region, we are making further progress. From one to two kilometers in various areas since the beginning of the day. More than 100 additional Russian soldiers have been captured in the same period. This will accelerate the return of our young men and women home." In the evening, he reaffirmed that Ukrainian military forces were advancing "well," stating, "We will achieve our strategic objectives."
On the eighth day of the attack, the Russian military confirmed on Wednesday that it had repelled Ukrainian assaults aimed at achieving further incursions into the depths of the Kursk region near five towns, including Levshinka, which is located 35 kilometers from Ukraine. The Russian Defense Ministry stated that its forces, supported by aviation, drones, and artillery, "thwarted attempts by hostile mobile groups with armored vehicles to penetrate deep into Russian territory," inflicting heavy losses on the Ukrainians.
Late on Wednesday, the governor of Kursk announced the evacuation of an additional area, Glushkovsky, where more than 120,000 people have been evacuated in recent days. For its part, Ukrainian forces used long-range drones to target four airports in central and western Russia, including Kursk, Voronezh, Savyaslik, and Borisoglebsk, according to a source in Ukrainian security services.
Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko explained that Ukraine intends to establish a "buffer zone" to protect residents at the border from "daily enemy shelling." Russian President Vladimir Putin had previously presented the Kremlin's attack on the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv (northeast) as a measure to create a "buffer zone" to stop Ukrainian strikes on adjacent Russian regions, but this goal has not been achieved.
In the neighboring Belgorod region, a state of emergency was declared on Wednesday due to Ukrainian shelling. Evacuations of 11,000 people from that area were announced on Monday evening. The Ukrainian assault has so far led to the flight of more than 120,000 residents from the region, according to Russian authorities, and has resulted in the deaths of at least 12 civilians and injuries to over a hundred. According to the Ukrainian Interior Minister, "more than 20,000 people" have been evacuated from the Sumy region bordering Kursk.
Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk announced on Wednesday that Ukrainian forces plan to open humanitarian corridors in the Kursk region to facilitate the evacuation of civilians "either towards Russia or towards Ukraine." She also posted a phone number at night for interested parties to use.
