Ukraine captures 150 Russian, In a dramatic escalation of its conflict with Russia, Ukraine has captured approximately 150 Russian soldiers daily in a surprise cross-border military assault on Russia’s Kursk region. This operation, which began on August 6, is reported to be the initial phase of a broader campaign against Moscow, according to Kyiv military officials.
Oleksii Drozdenko, head of the military administration in Sumy, revealed that Ukrainian forces, now 12 days into their incursion, have taken hundreds of Russian troops prisoner while sustaining minimal casualties themselves. “Sometimes there are more than 100 or 150 prisoners of war a day,”
Drozdenko told The Guardian, noting the minimal resistance encountered from Russian forces. “They do not want to fight us,” he added, reflecting on the low level of opposition from the Kremlin’s troops.
The success of the operation has been underscored by photographs showing Ukrainian trucks transporting captured Russian soldiers who were caught off guard by the assault. Drozdenko highlighted the efficiency of the operation, pointing out that Sumy hospitals have reported relatively few casualties and injuries.
“On the first day of the operation, there were only 15 casualties,” he said, with the majority of injuries described as minor, resulting from bomb damage and shrapnel.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has indicated that this incursion is designed to bolster Ukraine’s position in potential prisoner of war exchanges with Russia. Drozdenko mentioned that the ongoing operation in Kursk is just the beginning of a multi-stage offensive. “We see only part of this operation; in the future, we will see several stages,” he said, hinting at further strategic moves.
The operation’s success has been attributed to Russia’s relatively unprepared and lightly guarded border in Kursk, as Moscow concentrated its efforts on slow, steady advancements in Donbas and Donetsk.
Ukrainian forces’ surprise attack on Kursk also caught local officials in Sumy off guard, who had no prior warning of the military maneuver.
In response to the Ukrainian incursion, Russian forces have retaliated with strikes on Sumy, including cruise missile attacks that have caused fires and injured two Ukrainian soldiers. Russia has also accused Ukrainian forces of using Western-made rockets to destroy a key bridge over the Seim River in Kursk.
Ukrainian troops are alleged to have targeted a second bridge as well, which could be an effort to disrupt Moscow’s efforts to regroup and reinforce its positions.
With Ukrainian forces now controlling approximately 400 square miles of territory in Kursk, Zelensky has called on international allies, including the US, to lift restrictions on weapon supplies. “It is crucial that our partners remove barriers that hinder us from weakening Russian positions in the way this war demands,” Zelensky stated.
He emphasized that the bravery of Ukrainian soldiers and the resilience of their combat brigades are compensating for what he sees as a lack of decisive support from their allies.
