KYIV, Ukraine (BN24)— Ukrainian forces are fighting approximately 10,000 Russian soldiers in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukraine says it now controls about 90 square kilometers of territory, according to the country’s top military commander.
Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, in remarks published Sunday by his office, said Ukraine’s presence in Hlushkov district, deep within Russian territory, is part of a preemptive strategy to blunt any forthcoming enemy attack.
“We control about 90 square kilometers of territory in the Hlushkov district of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation,” Syrskyi stated. “These are our preemptive actions in response to a possible enemy attack.”
The Ukrainian military said the cross-border engagement is also serving a secondary goal: to divert Russian troops away from the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, where some of the fiercest and most sustained fighting of the war has taken place.
“Russian forces committed to defending Kursk are being pulled from the Donetsk front, easing pressure on Ukrainian defenses in the east,” a military statement said.
Despite the tactical success, the 1,200-kilometer front line remains under constant threat, with Ukrainian forces working to repel waves of small-scale Russian assaults that have intensified through May and June. Military officials said the attacks come with significant Russian casualties but continue to strain Ukrainian lines.
Facing relentless missile and drone attacks by Russian forces, Ukraine has stepped up efforts to defend its infrastructure and cities further from the front. Ukrainian officials say they are now intercepting roughly 82% of Iranian-made Shahed drones, but more advanced surface-to-air missile systems are urgently needed to protect vital sites.
The air force is also developing new tactics to counter Russia’s aerial assault, including light aircraft interceptors and anti-drone operations, especially critical as Russian attacks often involve swarms of drones launched simultaneously.
Ukraine continues to use its long-range strike capabilities to inflict damage inside Russian territory. From January to May, the Ukrainian military estimates it has caused $1.3 billion in direct losses to Russia’s oil refining and fuel infrastructure, along with energy, transport, and strategic communications networks.
An additional $9.5 billion in indirect losses have been recorded due to the destabilization of the Russian oil sector and logistical bottlenecks caused by Ukrainian strikes, according to military officials.
It remains unclear whether these figures include losses from Operation Spider’s Web, a sabotage mission that Ukraine claims inflicted billions in damage to Russian air power by targeting warplanes stationed deep inside Russian bases.
The presence of Ukrainian troops on Russian soil signals a notable expansion of the conflict’s geographic scope, a shift that Kyiv describes as necessary to raise the costs of war for Moscow. While Russia continues to escalate its campaign through persistent drone and missile strikes, Ukraine is increasingly looking beyond its borders to reshape the battlefield dynamics.
As the war grinds on past its three-year mark, Ukraine’s strategy now hinges on both tactical defense at home and strategic disruption of Russia’s military and economic capabilities abroad.
