Offensive in Russia

Ukraine controls important gas town of Sudzha

Commander-in-chief Olexander Syrskyj

(Bild: AFP/Handout)

According to Ukrainian army chief Olexander Syrskyi, the city of Sudzha in the Russian border region of Kursk is completely under Ukrainian control. This is particularly interesting from an Austrian perspective.

"The search and destruction of the enemy in the village of Sudzha has been completed," he said in a video conference with President Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Wednesday. Recordings of this were published on the president's Telegram channel.

Earlier, Ukrainian television had shown images of three soldiers tearing the Russian flag from a public building in Sutsha and shouting "Glory to Ukraine".

Important gas hub in Sudscha
The pipeline through which Russia supplies gas from western Siberia via Ukraine to Slovakia and other EU countries runs through Sutsha. Austria is particularly dependent on this transport route.

Selenskyj explained that the Ukrainian army continued to advance on Wednesday. Since the beginning of the day, they had advanced one to two kilometers in various areas, according to Selenskyj. Another hundred Russian soldiers had also been captured.

Ukraine was also preparing to set up a "security zone" in the Kursk region. Vice Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk wrote on the short messaging service Telegram that the country wanted to establish humanitarian aid and an escape corridor for civilians who wanted to reach either Russia or Ukraine. In addition, humanitarian organizations should be given access to the area.

The Ukrainian army had also previously stated that a Su-34 fighter jet had been destroyed in Kursk. The Russian military, on the other hand, stated at midday that its units, supported by the air force, drones and artillery, had "thwarted attempts by mobile enemy groups to penetrate deep into Russian territory with armored vehicles". The army statement went on to say that the Ukrainians had suffered heavy losses.

Ukraine kept up the pressure on the Kursk region and also attacked Voronezh, which lies further south on the common state border. A total of 117 Ukrainian drones and four missiles were intercepted on Wednesday night, according to the Ministry of Defense in Moscow. In each case, 37 drones were destroyed over Kursk and Voronezh. The ministry did not specify how many missiles were fired by the Ukrainian armed forces.

Ukraine wants to force Putin to negotiate
Zelenskyi said on Tuesday evening that the Ukrainian armed forces had gathered Russian prisoners of war who could be exchanged for Ukrainian ones. "Despite difficult and intense fighting, our forces continue to advance in Kursk Oblast, and the 'exchange fund' of our state is growing."

In the video conference with army chief Syrskyi, he called for the next "key steps" of the operation to be worked out. "Everything is being carried out according to plan," Syrsky replied, without elaborating.

Zelensky justified the offensive by, among other things, increasing the pressure on Russia towards peace talks. Russia rejected such talks. With its attack on the Kursk region, the Ukrainian side had "put peace talks on ice for the long term", said the special envoy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Rodion Miroshnik, to the state news agency Tass on Wednesday.