Russian Missile Ignites Blaze in Ukraine as Kyiv Advances into Kursk Region

On Saturday, Russia continued its military operations against Ukraine amid reports of Ukrainian forces advancing into the Kursk border region, marking a significant shift in the ongoing conflict.

In the city of Sumy, a Russian missile strike ignited a fire that injured two civilians and resulted in damage to vehicles and nearby structures, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service. This attack was attributed to an Iskander-K cruise missile alongside an aerial bomb.

The Ukrainian air force reported intercepting 14 Russian drones during the previous night, with some of these encounters occurring over the Kyiv region.

Meanwhile, combat operations persisted in the Kursk region of Russia, where Ukrainian troops have been active since August 6. Their strategy appears aimed at redirecting Russian military attention from the frontline in Ukraine.

Ukrainian forces announced the capture of the town of Sudzha, located just 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border. This town, which had a pre-war population of about 5,000, represents the largest administrative center taken by Ukraine to date since the invasion began.

On Friday, journalists from the Associated Press visited the area on a trip organized by the Ukrainian government. There, they observed the remnants of conflict, including a statue of Russian revolutionary leader Vladimir Lenin that had been damaged by artillery fire in the central square. Local infrastructure, including a government building, bore visible scars from shelling and gunfire.

Military correspondent Alexander Kots, writing for the pro-Kremlin Komsomolskaya Pravda, acknowledged that Ukrainian pressure in Kursk remains substantial. “While the main lines of the front have stabilized, there are still areas where the enemy attempts to extend its foothold,” he stated in a Telegram post.

On Friday, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova announced that Ukraine had struck a bridge across the Seim River in the Glushkovsky district using U.S.-made HIMARS rocket systems, marking their debut in the Kursk region. Though this claim could not be independently verified, the Institute for the Study of War noted that geolocated footage demonstrated the bridge’s collapse after the attack.

Milbloggers in Russia expressed concerns over the implications of destroyed bridges on supply routes for their military. However, they suggested that complete isolation was unlikely, as alternative transport methods, including pontoons, remained viable. Kots emphasized that the Seim River is smaller and more navigable than Ukraine’s larger waterways.

This incursion into Kursk differs from previous incursions into Russian territory due to its size, urgency, and the involvement of seasoned Ukrainian brigades, with estimates suggesting as many as 10,000 Ukrainian troops may be participating, according to Western military analysts.

Yan Furtsev, an activist with the local opposition party Yabloko, observed that the scale of this conflict has left many citizens in shock. “No one expected this level of conflict in the Kursk region, which has caused widespread confusion and fear among residents,” he noted, highlighting the arrival of frightened evacuees from frontline areas.

Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry indicated in a press conference that about 10,000 evacuees from Kursk—among them around 3,000 children—were currently housed in 171 temporary facilities throughout the country.

Ukrainian forces also reported the capture of multiple Russian soldiers during their operations in the region. On Friday, a visit by the AP to a detention facility in Ukraine revealed dozens of prisoners of war (POWs), some being led by guards and others receiving meager rations of soup.

In light of these developments, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed gratitude to the country’s soldiers and commanders for their successes in capturing Russian troops. He noted that the “exchange fund” for bargaining the release of Ukrainian POWs was being strengthened. “I thank all our soldiers and commanders who are capturing Russian military personnel, thus facilitating the return of our warriors and civilians held in Russia,” Zelenskyy remarked in a post on X.