Ukraine continued its unprecedented advance in the Russian region of Kursk on Saturday, August 17, assuring that it wanted to force Russia to begin “fair” negotiations after nearly two and a half years of Moscow’s invasion of its territory. The Russian army, for its part, is maintaining its pressure in the Ukrainian Donbass, where it has had the advantage for several months over Kiev’s soldiers, who are outnumbered.
Key information to remember
⇒ Ukraine says it is “strengthening” its positions in the Russian region of Kursk
⇒ Russia to evacuate five border villages from Ukraine from Monday
⇒ Germany to suspend further military aid to Ukraine
Ukraine says it is “strengthening” its positions in Russia’s Kursk region
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has assured that his army is “strengthening” its positions in the Russian region of Kursk, more than ten days after the launch of a surprise large-scale offensive on Russian soil. The Moscow army, for its part, has said it is “repelling” new assaults from kyiv, while continuing to pound several regions of Ukraine, notably in Donbass (east), where it has the advantage over kyiv’s forces, which are outnumbered.
On August 6, the Ukrainian army attacked the Kursk region, seizing, according to kyiv, 82 localities and 1,150 square kilometers in an offensive that surprised Moscow and constitutes the largest foreign military operation on Russian soil since World War II.
Russia to evacuate five border villages from Ukraine from Monday
Russian authorities warned Friday that they would evacuate and block access to five villages located very close to the Ukrainian border, in the Belgorod region, neighboring the Kursk region currently targeted by the large-scale offensive of the Ukrainian army. “Starting from August 19, we are blocking access to five localities, evacuating residents and helping to move property,” detailed the governor of the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, specifying that access to a sixth village will also be “temporarily” prohibited.
Germany to suspend further military aid to Ukraine
The German government will suspend all further military aid to Ukraine as part of the ruling coalition’s spending cuts plan, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitungtaken up by the American site PoliticoIn a letter sent to the German Defense Ministry on August 5, Finance Minister Christian Lindner said that future funding would no longer come from the German federal budget but from the proceeds of frozen Russian assets, according to the German newspaper.
Moscow says Ukraine likely used US-supplied missiles in Kursk
Two major bridges were destroyed yesterday in the Russian region of Kursk on the Seyim River. Moscow accuses Ukraine of probably using missiles supplied by the United States, the British daily reports. The Guardian. Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said on the Telegram messaging app: “For the first time, the Kursk region was hit by Western-made rocket launchers, probably American Himars.”
The United States has said it cannot allow Russian President Vladimir Putin to win the war he launched in February 2022. It has so far viewed the surprise incursion as a protective measure that justifies the use of American weapons, officials in Washington said.
Rome defends the “independence” of Italian journalists after Moscow summons its ambassador
The Italian ambassador to Russia, summoned by Moscow on Friday following a report by the Italian channel RAI in the Kursk region, defended the “independent” work of journalists on the ground, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs told AFP in Rome.
“Ambassador Cecilia Piccioni explained that RAI and in particular the editorial teams plan their activities in a completely autonomous and independent manner,” said a spokesman for Italian diplomacy. Russian diplomacy had announced shortly before that it had summoned the ambassador to denounce a recent report by a RAI team in an area of the Russian region of Kursk conquered by the Ukrainian army.
Vladimir Putin on a state visit to Azerbaijan on August 18-19
Russian President Vladimir Putin will pay a state visit to Azerbaijan on August 18-19 to develop bilateral relations and discuss “regional and international issues,” the Kremlin announced on Friday. The Caucasian country is a close partner of Moscow and a major energy supplier to Western countries. “Development of Russian-Azerbaijani relations […] as well as current international and regional issues will be discussed,” the Kremlin said in a statement.