Photo: Russian soldiers fire anti-tank guns in Kursk Oblast. \Associated Press

[Ta Kung Pao News]According to reports from the Wall Street Journal and RIA Novosti: Ukrainian President Zelensky said on the 15th that the Ukrainian army had occupied the border town of Suja in Kursk Oblast, Russia, and established a military command post. The commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian armed forces, Serski, said on the same day that the Ukrainian army had advanced 35 kilometers along the Russian fortifications, occupied 1,150 square kilometers of land, and controlled 82 settlements in Kursk Oblast. However, the US media pointed out that the Ukrainian offensive failed to attract the Russian army to divert its fierce attack on eastern Ukraine, but instead caused the Ukrainian army’s forces on the eastern front to become thinner, allowing the Russian army to advance rapidly in eastern Ukraine.

Sudja is located 85 kilometers south of Kursk, the capital of Kursk Oblast, and had a population of about 6,000 before the war. It is not only the port of entry from Kursk to Sumy Oblast, Ukraine, but also a transit point for Russian natural gas to Europe. The Ukrainian army released a video last week, claiming that it had taken control of Sudja, including a facility of Gazprom.

US media pointed out that although the Ukrainian army’s offensive in Kursk has made some gains, the Russian army has retaliated by taking more territory in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. Ukrainian commanders on the eastern front believe that the situation has become more serious this summer. At present, the Ukrainian army on the eastern front is still seriously short of ammunition and manpower, and the Russian army even enjoys a 10-to-1 firepower advantage in some places.

The Russian Ministry of Defense reported on the 16th that Ukraine attempted to use the US-supplied Army Tactical Missiles (ATACMS) with cluster warheads to attack the Crimean Bridge, but all 12 missiles were intercepted and destroyed by the Russian air defense system.