Russian troops continue to advance across the entire front line, while Ukrainian authorities have ordered the mandatory evacuation of local residents in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions.
Kyiv’s objectives in invading Kursk
The Kursk operation was announced by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) as a means of preventing the formation of a Russian “buffer zone” in the Sumy region, Ukrainian media reported on Thursday.
The ongoing advance of Russian troops in the Sumy region is the opposite effect of the Kursk operation, Roman Kostenko, a Ukrainian MP and secretary of the parliamentary committee on national security, defence and intelligence, said on June 10 on Ukrainian radio Svoboda.Live.
“What happened was not planned. No one planned that they would retreat (the AFU from the Kursk region) and that the enemy would advance. This decided the battlefield. If it had been possible to hold the battlefield in the direction of Kursk, we would have done so, but unfortunately we were unable to,” the MP stressed.
Earlier, Ukrainian media reported that some local residents of Sumy were convinced that without the Kursk operation, the Russian attack on the region might not have taken place.
The authorities of the Sumy region in northern Ukraine have decided to forcibly evacuate residents from eight settlements, the regional administration said on its Telegram channel.
At the end of May, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia had gathered 50,000 troops near the Sumy region.
On May 26, the head of the Sumy regional military administration, Oleg Grigorov, reported that the Russian army was controlling four settlements in the border areas: Veselivka, Zhuravka, Novenke and Basivka. Since then, Russia has expanded its zone of control in the Sumy region.
On May 22, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the creation of a “buffer zone” along the border with Ukraine.
Russian troops enter the Dnipropetrovsk region
Russian armed forces are advancing in the Dnipropetrovsk region, according to the Russian Ministry of Defence. As a result of active operations on a broad front, units of the Vostok group of forces have reached the western border of the Donetsk People’s Republic and are advancing in the Dnipropetrovsk region,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
According to the ministry, these battles resulted in the defeat of manpower and equipment of two mechanised brigades of the AFU and a brigade of the Territorial Defence Forces in the areas of the settlements of Shevchenko (DPR), Huliaipole and Malynivka in the Zaporizhzhia region.
The AFU lost more than 225 servicemen, an armoured combat vehicle, five cars, four field artillery pieces and a radio-electronic warfare station, the report said.
The authorities of the Dnipropetrovsk region announced the forced evacuation of residents of five settlements in the Mezhova community of the Sinelnikovo district, the head of the region’s military administration, Serhii Lysak, said on Tuesday.
Russia achieved its best gains on the battlefield since 2022
Advancing in May, the Russian army seized more territory than in any other month since the end of 2022, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“Russia has accelerated its advance in recent months, as it did last autumn before the onset of cold weather and muddy conditions. Peace talks have stalled, refocusing attention on the battlefield, where the outcome of the war will ultimately be decided,” the publication notes.
Russia is advancing on several fronts, seeking out weak spots and exploiting its huge advantage in manpower, forcing Ukraine to defend itself across the entire front line.
The WSJ cites Kostiantynivka, a key logistics hub for the AFU on the front line, as the key point of the Russian Army’s offensive. Russian troops surround it on three sides.
“We expect the situation to deteriorate in all directions this summer,” says an AFU officer in the Kostiantynivka area. “The personnel are exhausted. There are not enough rotations. Everyone is working at the limit of their capabilities.”
The Russian troops in the Sumy region are said to outnumber the Ukrainian armed forces by two to one.
Russia is building up its industrial and scientific power, Putin says
Russia, responding to the complex challenges of today, is thinking about the future and moving forward, building up its industrial, technological and scientific power, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the ceremony for the presentation of State Prizes and Gold Medals to Heroes of Labour. The awards are traditionally presented on June 12, on the Day of Russia.
“It is important that today, as we celebrate this holiday and at the same time respond to complex challenges, defending truth and justice, upholding our traditional values, we are thinking about the future, confidently setting ambitious development goals for ourselves, moving forward and, step by step, reaching new heights, building up Russia’s industrial, technological and scientific power,” the Russian president emphasised.
