Kursk invasion aims to start negotiations – Kiev – DW – August 16, 2024

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Italian ambassador to Moscow over an “illegal border crossing” by journalists from Italian state broadcaster RAI.

The journalists broadcast a television report from the town of Suzha in Russia’s Kursk region, which was captured by Ukraine last week when it launched its invasion of Russia.

“A strong protest has been expressed to the ambassador in relation to the actions of a film crew from the Italian national television and radio station RAI, which illegally entered the territory of the Russian Federation,” a foreign ministry statement said.

The Italian journalists appear to have been operating under Ukrainian military escort when they entered Suzha and filmed footage for their report.

The head of the Ukrainian military said Kiev’s forces had advanced one to three kilometers in parts of Russia’s Kursk region.

“The strike forces are continuing to fight and in some areas have advanced one to three kilometers towards the enemy,” Gen. Oleksandr Shirskyi told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video posted on social media.

Ukraine claims to have seized 82 settlements in the Kursk region since launching a surprise cross-border offensive 10 days ago.

Shirsky said fighting continued along the entire front line and that they hoped to capture “a number of prisoners” from ongoing fighting in the village of Mala Loknya, about 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

“In general, the situation is under control and everything is going according to plan,” Schilsky said.

He added that heavy fighting continues on the front line in eastern Ukraine, particularly in the areas of Tretsk and Pokrovsk.

Volunteer corps of the Free Russian Corps have called on Russian soldiers to defect to the Ukrainian army or surrender.

The Legion is a pro-Kiev paramilitary organization made up of Russian nationals.

“Your political leaders, sitting in their warm back rooms, are telling you that you should blow yourself up with a grenade rather than be taken prisoner,” the force said in a Telegram post.

He called on Russian soldiers to “fight for a normal future for Russia.”

“We are ready to enter into contact with anyone who expresses a willingness to take up arms against the Kremlin,” the statement said.

Ukrainian forces have been advancing into the Kursk region on the Russian border since a surprise invasion on August 6.

At least two people were killed and seven wounded in the attack on a supermarket in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing pro-Moscow regional authorities.

Russia’s state-run RIA news agency posted a video showing thick smoke billowing from the burnt building.

Denis Pushilin, leader of the Moscow-backed Donetsk region, said in a Telegram post that Ukrainian forces were behind the attack. He said an area of ​​more than 10,000 square metres (107,639 square feet) was engulfed in flames and that a hospital was also hit.

This information could not be independently verified.

Parts of Donetsk Oblast, including its eponymous capital, have been controlled by pro-Russian forces since 2014. Russia claims it annexed the entire oblast in September 2022, including areas not controlled by its forces.

Former Australian Army General Mick Ryan told DW that the Ukrainian invasion of Russia’s Kursk region is likely a dramatic turn in the Russia-Ukraine war, saying that by sending troops to Kursk, Ukraine is trying to upend the status quo in the war and turn things in its favor.

Check out the full interview here:

Russia said it thwarted an attack by Ukraine of 12 U.S.-made ATACMS missiles on the Crimean Bridge, which was built on the orders of President Vladimir Putin after Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

“Last night, air defense systems were used to fend off a collective attack of 12 US-made ATACMS missiles on the Crimean bridge. All missiles were destroyed,” the Moscow Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

The bridge, opened in 2018, connects Kerch in Crimea with Krasnodar Krai in southern Russia.

Ukraine has attempted to attack the bridge multiple times since Moscow launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Russian authorities have declared a group of exiled Russian politicians who oppose Moscow’s war in Ukraine an “undesirable organisation”.

According to Russian media, the prosecutor’s office said members of the “Peaceful Russian Parliamentarians” group were accused of taking part in events in Germany with an “anti-Russian orientation.”

“They spread misleading information about the activities of Russian government agencies and support extremist organizations,” the statement added.

The non-governmental organization was founded in October 2023 and held its first conference in Berlin. Its members include 74 Russian regional and city councilors and representatives, many of whom live in exile.

“All members of the association consider the regime of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin to be criminal, condemn Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and advocate for a democratic path in Russia and the decentralization of power,” the group said on its website.

Under Russian legislation, which has been steadily tightened by the Duma since 2015, any organisation whose activities are deemed to “pose a threat to the constitutional order, the state’s defence and the foundations of security” can be designated as “undesirable”.

Croatian Defense Minister Ivan Anusic announced late Thursday that the country will reinstate conscription from Jan. 1, 2025.

The decision, made in light of Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine and the military buildup in a neighboring country that fought a brutal war with Russia in the 1990s, sparked a public outcry.

“We have increased the salaries of soldiers, NCOs and officers, we have increased their material rights through their personal income but also their daily wages and everything they are entitled to,” the minister told Croatian broadcaster RTL on Thursday.

“The modernization and equipping of our forces is proceeding as planned and in line with agreements with our allies and NATO leaders,” he added.

Croatia abolished conscription in 2008 but is following in the footsteps of other European countries such as Latvia, which reintroduced conscription last year.

Serbia is also considering introducing similar measures.

The Ukrainian military urged civilians in the eastern town of Pokrovsk to evacuate quickly as Russian forces were “rapidly” surrounding the city.

“With each passing day, there is less and less time to pack up personal belongings and evacuate to safer areas,” Ukrainian officials wrote in Telegram.

The warning comes as Russian offensives continue across the eastern Donbas region, with the Ukrainian General Staff recording 144 clashes in the past 24 hours.

The Ukrainian military reported that heavy fighting took place not only in Pokrovsk, but also in the towns of Tretsk and Krahove in the Donetsk region.

Ukraine said it had repelled dozens of Russian attacks with air and artillery strikes.

Mykhailo Podoljak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, said on Friday that Ukraine’s recent surprise border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region was needed to convince Moscow to begin “fair” peace talks.

“We need to inflict a significant tactical defeat on Russia,” Podoljak wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

“In the Kursk region, we can clearly see how military means are being used to objectively persuade the Russian Federation to join a fair negotiating process.”

Podolyakh said Ukraine had no intention of holding onto Russian territory and was only fighting a defensive war.

But he said a tactical defeat was needed to force Russia to begin negotiations to end the war.

Podoljak suggested that the presence of Ukrainian troops in Russia could influence public opinion, since the war did not directly affect many people in Russia.

ab/rm (Reuters, AFP, DPA, AP)