UPDATES WITH RUSSIAN DEFENSE MINISTRY, FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESWOMAN STATEMENTS
By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Wednesday claimed that Ukrainian forces are making advances in Russia's Kursk region.
In a statement on Telegram, Zelenskyy said that Ukraine’s commander-in-chief reported to him about advances of "one to two kilometers" in various areas since the beginning of the day.
"We are advancing in the Kursk region -- between one and two kilometers in different sectors since the day started. Additionally, more than 100 Russian soldiers have been captured during this time. I’m grateful to everyone involved," he said.
The Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that fighting continues in the Kursk region, but claimed that Ukrainian attempts to make advances in the region have been thwarted.
”Two sabotage groups traveling in pickups were detected and destroyed in the Martynovka area. Six attacks by units from the 115th Mechanized, 80th, and 82nd Airborne Assault Brigades were repelled near the settlements of Korenevo, Olgovka, Pogrebki, Russian Porechnoye, and Cherkess Porechnoye," according to the ministry.
Russian aviation carried out strikes on Ukrainian troops in both Russia's Kursk region and Ukraine's Sumy region, it said.
”Throughout the day, Ukrainian forces suffered losses of 270 servicemen and 16 armored vehicles, including two tanks, a Stryker armored personnel carrier, 13 armored combat vehicles, as well as 10 vehicles and a 122 mm D-30 howitzer. Additionally, 18 Ukrainian servicemen were taken prisoner.
”In total, during the fighting in the Kursk direction, the enemy has lost up to 2,300 soldiers, 37 tanks, 32 armored personnel carriers, 18 infantry fighting vehicles, 192 armored combat vehicles, 88 vehicles, four anti-aircraft missile systems, two multiple rocket launchers, and 15 field artillery guns," the ministry added.
Meanwhile, the governor of Russia's Belgorod region announced on Telegram that a federal state of emergency had been declared due to the ongoing fighting in the neighboring Kursk region.
In a separate statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry claimed that Ukraine's actions in the Kursk region are undermining the prospects of a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that Ukraine's offensive in the Kursk region resulted in the deaths of 12 civilians, including an ambulance crew and a pregnant woman, with over 120 people injured, among them 10 children.
She said that on the morning of Aug. 6, Ukrainian troops fired from a tank at the Gornal St. Nicholas Belogorsky Monastery during a liturgy.
Zakharova also suggested that Kyiv aims to divert Russian forces from other fronts.
The invasion began on the night of Aug. 5-6, when Ukrainian troops entered Russia's Kursk region near the city of Sudzha.
On Aug. 12, Zelenskyy confirmed that the incursion was a Ukrainian military operation, though he did not elaborate on its objectives.
Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the incursion, calling it a "terrorist attack."
Independent verification of the claims from both sides is difficult due to the ongoing war.