Russia launches counterattack on Ukraine in the Kursk border region – LocalNews8.com

By Sophie Tanno, Darya Tarasova, Svitlana Vlasova and Gul Tuysuz, CNN

(CNN) — Russia has launched a counterattack in the Kursk border region after Ukrainian forces unexpectedly crossed the border last month.

“The Russians have launched a counteroffensive,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference on Thursday, his first comment since reports emerged of Russian counterattacks in Kursk.

Ukraine had expected a reaction from Russia, and a counter-offensive was in line with the “Ukrainian plan,” said Zelensky.

Zelensky had previously stated that the surprise attack on the Russian region of Kursk was the first step in a four-part “victory plan”.

The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Thursday that Russian forces had “invaded” the Kursk region and captured ten settlements.

A social media video geolocalized by CNN showed a Russian mechanized assault group in the settlement of Snagost on the western edge of Ukrainian-controlled territory.

On August 6, Ukrainian troops stormed the Kursk region in a lightning strike that surprised even American officials. It was the first foreign attack on Russian soil since World War II, and thousands of soldiers armed with heavy weapons crossed the border into the region.

This was a sign that Russia's military, despite its superiority in terms of soldiers and tanks, also has weaknesses.

The attack forced Russia to bolster its defenses. US officials told CNN that Moscow had to withdraw thousands of troops from occupied areas of Ukraine to counter the threat. Russian President Vladimir Putin was forced to bring in conscripts, breaking his promise not to use them on the front lines.

Last week, Zelensky said Ukraine had captured about 100 settlements and about 1,300 square kilometers of territory in the Kursk region.

One aim of the invasion was to draw Russian forces away from the eastern front line in Ukraine, where they continue to make gradual advances. Another obvious aim was to boost the morale of the Ukrainian army after a stormy few months.

Experts told CNN that Ukraine's bold attempt to breach the border with Russia, planned in the strictest secrecy, surprised even Kyiv's closest allies and changed the course of a war that has been going on for more than two years.

In a joint public appearance on Sunday, both CIA chief Bill Burns and MI6 chief Richard Moore endorsed the invasion of Ukraine at Kursk. Moore said it had changed the situation and Burns called it a significant tactical success.

Red Cross employee killed

In addition, three employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were killed by Russian artillery fire during their mission in eastern Ukraine, said Zelensky.

The ICRC said its staff were killed in an attack on their vehicles as they prepared to distribute wood and coal briquettes to the region's population.

The organization did not disclose who was behind the attack.

“We are shocked,” Pat Griffith, ICRC spokesman in Ukraine, told CNN. “Three of my colleagues were killed and two injured while distributing aid in the Donetsk region.”

The three ICRC staff killed in the artillery attack were Ukrainian citizens, said Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.

ICRC teams are regularly deployed in the Donetsk region and their vehicles are “clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem,” the organization said.

The ICRC called for respect for international humanitarian law, “including by taking every possible precaution to ensure that persons engaged in humanitarian activities do not become involved in or involved in hostilities.”

Zelensky described the shelling of the ICRC team as “another Russian war crime.”

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CNN's Radina Gigova contributed to this report.