Ukrainian Armed Forces offensive extends beyond Kursk region, fighting expands to Belgorod region - Washington Post
Fierce fighting is continuing in the Belgorod region of the Russian Federation.
According to Censor.NET, the Washington Post reports.
On Thursday, 15 August, Ukraine appointed a military commander to run the parts of the Kursk region under its control. Immediately afterwards, new details emerged about the fighting in Belgorod, described by Ukrainian soldiers who were wounded there and evacuated across the border to Sumy region.
Ukrainian intelligence also announced the detention of more than 100 Russian soldiers, which it said was the "largest mass capture" of enemy soldiers at one time.
In contrast to the joy of some soldiers over the events in the Kursk region, several soldiers said that the fighting in Belgorod was fierce.
Three wounded Ukrainian soldiers, including one commander, described how, after months of deployment along the border, they were sent to Russia four days ago. They crossed the border in armoured vehicles in broad daylight, said 24-year-old 'Hacker'.
When they were preparing to cross the border in Kolotylivka, the same place where the prisoner of war exchange had previously taken place, the soldier recalled thinking that it was a really "crazy" move.
Unlike the rapid advance on Kursk, the Russian troops in Belgorod seemed ready for their arrival. The area was fortified with anti-tank obstacles called "Dragon's Teeth" and heavily mined. The Ukrainians almost immediately came under intense artillery, drone and aerial bombardment.
According to the soldiers, the Ukrainians advanced about ten kilometres, capturing abandoned Russian positions. But the fighting remained tense.
"Our entire group was wounded on the day we arrived. Many Ukrainian servicemen were concussed or seriously wounded, while others were killed and forced to stay behind," Hacker said.
The shelling was so intense that the survivors had to hide in Russian trenches for several days until an armoured vehicle arrived on the morning of Thursday, 15 August, to evacuate them for medical care. Some were repeatedly injured while waiting for help.
The Hacker said he was afraid he might be killed in Russia "because we didn't know their territory".
"We were working blindly," he added.
Among the six evacuees was the Hacker commander, 48-year-old Serhiy, whose right leg was seriously injured in a drone attack a day earlier. He underwent surgery immediately upon arrival in Ukraine on Thursday, 15 August.
"They were shooting at us from everything," the soldier said.
Russian forces in Belgorod may have been put on high alert after the operation in neighbouring Kursk, and this may have contributed to the increased resistance, said Brady Afrik, an open source analyst and senior media consultant at the American Enterprise Institute.
According to Afrik, this position was probably reinforced by the construction of the defence line since last summer.
"There's a pattern of attacking Russia in a way they didn't expect, losing territory either temporarily or permanently, and in response, dramatically increasing defence construction," Afrik said.
