The Russian Defense Ministry announced last night that its forces had recaptured three more villages in the western part of Kursk region, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
A statement by the ministry, published on the Telegram app, said that Russian troops now control the villages of Malaya Loknya, Cherkasskoye Porechye and Kositsa.
“The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue to defeat Ukrainian army groups on the territory of Kursk region“, the statement said.
After Russian troops advanced into the Sumy region in eastern Ukraine, they took control of supply routes passing through region, Ukrainian television reported.
According to Ukrainian soldiers, the Russian military is using drones whose frequencies cannot be jammed. According to them, since these drones patrol supply routes around the clock and "hunt", supplying soldiers at the front is becoming increasingly difficult.
The positions of Ukrainian soldiers fighting near Kursk have deteriorated significantly in recent days. About 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers are threatened with encirclement after the Russian offensive, UNIAN reported.
There has been no official statement from the General Staff in Kiev at the moment, DPA notes.
Russian troops in the Sumy region have moved 500-700 meters from the Ukrainian border between the villages of Zhuravka and Basivka, Suspilne reports, quoted by FOKUS, citing a Ukrainian soldier defending himself in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.
The soldier claims that the offensive of Russian forces has been registered since the evening of March 8. Fighting in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation continues.
"The Yunakovka-Sudzha road (providing support for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation) is under Russian control. Russian drones for video surveillance fly over almost every five minutes. They operate on new frequencies. Our artillery and drones are operating at 20% of their capacity. We cannot import drones and ammunition,” he said.
The serviceman added that about five crews of Russian drones operate in the sky at night and conduct “free hunting”.
The fiber-optic drones have already destroyed three bridges, the Ukrainian media added.
Oleg Chaus, senior sergeant of the company of the 47th “Magura” brigade, commented on the situation in the Kursk region in “United News” and stated that Russian forces are trying to find a weak spot in the Ukrainian defense and surround the Defense Forces. The Russians have an advantage in terms of the number of drones and personnel, as well as in terms of the quality of communications.
"At the moment, we are under attack by assault groups every time. They come from the north, they try from the northwest, from the southwest... The enemy's drones have a greater advantage in this area. Communications, which can provide a high-quality picture for controlling artillery and troops, are not at a very high level... The situation is difficult, we are controlling it“, he said.
The deputy head of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, commenting on the successes of the Russian military in the Kursk region, said that "the lid of the smoking boiler is practically closed“, and the offensive continues.
"The lid of the smoking boiler is practically closed. The offensive continues. Forward!“, Medvedev wrote on his Telegram channel, quoted by FOCUS.
"Our soldiers in the Kursk region have excellently congratulated Russian women on March 8! The lid of the smoking boiler is practically closed. The offensive continues", he wrote.
"The Armed Forces of Ukraine have hit a market in the village of Velikiy Kopany, there are casualties". This was reported by the governor of the Russian side of the Kherson region, Vladimir Saldo, on his Telegram channel, RIA Novosti reported, quoted by FOCUS.
"Today, the enemy fired two HIMARS MLRS missiles directly into the rows of the market in Velikiy Kopany. At that moment, there were dozens of civilians, ordinary farmers, who had come to sell their produce in the market. People were calmly going about their business while the enemy was cold-bloodedly shooting at them. There are dead and many injured,“ Saldo wrote.
A little later, the governor's press service reported seven injured. It also warned that the likelihood of further shelling remained high.
Saldo also wrote that "the barbaric attack by Ukrainian fighters is a targeted attack on the population working on their land".
Emergency services are working at the scene of the incident.