Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed this week that his country’s troops took full control of a key Russian town, located about 6 miles away from the Ukrainian border, as troops continue to push farther into the Kursk region of Russia.
Sudzha, which has a population of about 5,000 people, is the largest Russian town to fall to Ukrainian forces since the launch of Ukraine’s large-scale offensive operation into Russian territory that caught them off guard last week.
Kyiv claimed earlier this week that about 386 square miles in the Kursk region have been seized by Ukraine, or what they say is about as much land Ukraine claimed in a week as Russia has claimed in a year.
Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed Ukraine’s allies for the recent incursion. “It appears that the enemy, with the support from their Western backers, is executing their directives, and the West is using Ukrainians as proxies in this conflict,” he said during a national security meeting on Monday in Moscow.
What happened last week?
On Aug. 6, Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into the Kursk region, which borders northeastern Ukraine. It’s the most significant cross-border attack since Russia’s unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Associated Press reported that Western military analysts believe that around 10,000 Ukrainian troops are involved.
Russian forces have struggled to push back the shocking Ukrainian advance, sparking chaos in the Kursk region that has led to the evacuation of more than 120,000 civilians, according to Russian authorities. Russia, meanwhile, has declared a federal emergency in the Kursk and Belgorod regions.
Ukraine claims to have captured hundreds of Russian prisoners that they want to swap for Ukrainian prisoners held by Russia; it also says it control more than 80 Russian settlements.
It marks the first time since World War II that foreign troops entered and held Russian territory.
Why did Ukraine do it?
Zelensky acknowledged for the first time on Aug. 10 that Kyiv’s military launched the incursion because they wanted to “push the war out into the aggressor’s territory,” ABC News reported.
“Ukraine is proving that it really knows how to restore justice and guarantees exactly the kind of pressure that is needed — pressure on the aggressor,” he said.
Myhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Zelensky, also suggested on Thursday that the offensive operation would help Kyiv have more negotiating power, if the opportunity presented itself with Moscow, such as taking Russian prisoners and controlling the key town of Sudzha.
Why is Sudzha important for Ukraine?
It comes down to valuable energy sources. Russia exports natural gas to Europe from its west Siberian gas fields by way of pipelines. Those pipelines pass through Sudzha, where a metering station is located, and crosses the Ukrainian border into Ukraine’s pipeline system, before then entering the European Union.
Yet, despite the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, natural gas has continued to flow from Russia by way of Ukraine to Europe. Ukraine essentially is able to collect transit fees. Ukrainian officials have said they have no plans to renew the deal with Russia.
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As CNN reports, Ukraine’s control of Sudzha “has prompted speculation that one of Kyiv’s goals could be to curtail a lucrative source of funding for Moscow,” which could boost Ukraine’s bargaining chips in any future negotiations with Moscow.
What’s next?
White House national security spokesman John Kirby told CNN on Thursday that it looked like Russia was shifting some of its forces to the Kursk region. “It is apparent to us that Mr. Putin and the Russian military are diverting some resources, some units, towards the Kursk oblast to ostensibly counter what the Ukrainians are doing,” Kirby said.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has also set up a military office in the occupied area of the Kursk region as Ukrainian troops are advancing northwest and southeast of Sudzha, The Hill reported.
