KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian forces pushed on with their major cross-border incursion into Russia‘s Kursk region for a second week Wednesday, claiming that they took more ground, captured more Russian prisoners and destroyed a bomber in attacks on military airfields.
Assault troops advanced 1-2 kilometers (about a mile) further into areas of Kursk on Wednesday, the commander of the Ukrainian military, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said in a video posted on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Telegram channel.
Ukrainian troops also took more than 100 Russian soldiers prisoner, Syrskyi said. Zelenskyy said they would be used to swap for Ukrainian POWs.
Additionally, the troops destroyed a Russian Su-34 jet used to launch devastating glide bombs at Ukrainian front-line positions and cities, Ukraine’s General Staff said.
The surprise Ukrainian charge onto Russian soil that began Aug. 6 has rattled the Kremlin. The daring Kursk operation is the largest attack on Russia since World War II and could involve as many as 10,000 Ukrainian troops backed by armor and artillery, military analysts say.
Ukraine’s top military commander claims his forces have advanced into 1,000 square kilometers (about 390 square miles) of the Kursk region, though it was not possible to independently verify that claim.
If true, it would amount to capturing in just one week almost as much Ukrainian land as Russian forces took — 1,175 square kilometers (450 square…
