Ukraine keeps pounding Kursk in incursion Biden calls ‘real dilemma’ for Putin

Reuters:

Aug 14 – Ukraine kept pounding the Russian border region of Kursk with missiles and drones on Wednesday, as Kyiv said it had made further territorial gains in an incursion that U.S. President Joe Biden called a “real dilemma” for the Kremlin’s leader.

Four Ukraine-launched missiles were destroyed over Kursk and the whole region was under air raid alerts on and off most of the night, its regional acting governor said early Wednesday.

Kyiv said on Tuesday it had taken control of 74 settlements in Kursk, a week after thousands of Ukrainian soldiers launched a startling attack through the Russian border.

Ukraine’s account has jarred with Russia’s assertions that Kyiv’s troops had been halted and attacks had been repelled at villages about 26 to 28 km (16 to 17 miles) from the border.

Reuters was not able to independently verify the battlefield situation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said the attack was aimed at improving Kyiv’s negotiating position ahead of possible talks and slowing Russia’s frontline advance.

The incursion has suddenly shifted the dynamics of the war, which Moscow started with its full-scale invasion on Ukraine in 2022, giving President Volodymyr Zelenskiy the first significant gains after months of Moscow’s steady territorial advances into Ukraine.