Moscow rushes to send troops as Ukrainian attack on Kursk tests Kremlin

The attack on Kursk, which is adjacent to Ukraine’s Sumy region, caught Russian defenses thinly staffed and seemingly unaware.

“This is a very big blow to the reputation of the Russian authorities, of the military and Putin,” one Russian business executive said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to avoid retribution or prosecution. “Because for two and a half years there has been minimal damage to Russian territory, apart from the occupied territories [in Ukraine]. It was only from drones.”

“Now it's not clear how many victims there have been, there has been some destruction and its clear they are not able to stop it quickly,” the business executive added.

A leading member of the Russian parliament, Andrey Gurulyov, who is a former deputy commander for Russia’s southern military district, condemned the botched handling of the incursion. Posting on the Telegram messaging platform, Gurulyov called for the military prosecutor to investigate decisions by the military command to transfer defense forces from the Kursk border region ahead of the attack.

Questions were also being raised about the failure to act on what Gurulyov said had been intelligence reports that the Ukrainian armed forces were preparing to attack the region 48 hours before the assault began.

Sergei Markov, a Kremlin-connected political analyst, said there were obvious failures.

“This is a blow because it is clear that the signal came from intelligence to the leadership but … measures were not taken,” Markov said. “This is a failure of the entire system of intelligence, and since Putin is responsible for this then its clear this is a blow to Putin.”

However, Markov said the situation could be resolved if Ukraine’s attack is defeated. “People are still hoping this will end in the destruction of the Ukrainian forces,” he said.

The bold cross-border incursion has followed an intense summer of fighting during which Russia has made steady territorial gains in Ukraine’s east, putting pressure on Kyiv’s depleted and fatigued forces.

Analysts say the attack may be intended to divert Russian troops from other locations along the front, as well as leverage for any future negotiations with the Kremlin.

Reports suggest that Ukrainian troops have occupied Russian border villages and partially at least one small city, Sudzha, and are now operating more than six miles inside Russian territory.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022, anti-Kremlin militias backed by Ukraine have launched several cross-border attacks, but this would mark the deepest and most effective attack since the start of the war. Kyiv has so far not confirmed its involvement in the attack.

“Ukrainian forces have clearly advanced quite far into Kursk, but how much territory they control or actually intend to control remains unknown,” said Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Footage released Friday by Russia’s defense ministry showed a military column transporting artillery and armored vehicles entering the Kursk region, some 330 miles west of Moscow. The defense ministry reported that BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) and artillery pieces had been sent to support forces fighting in the Sudzhansky district of the Kursk region.

Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry initiated a state of emergency in the Kursk region Friday, as thousands were reportedly evacuated from the region. Videos circulating on social media appeared to show columns of cars leaving the region, while Russian authorities released photos of emergency workers supporting residents. Russia’s Health Ministry said that a total of 66 people have been injured, including nine children.

Ukrainian forces initially stormed the Kursk region’s Sudzhansky district early Tuesday, advancing deeper into Russian territory and contradicting claims from Russian authorities that they had successfully repelled the attack. On Friday, Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have killed 280 Ukrainian troops and destroyed 27 armored vehicles over the past 24 hours.

“Units of the North group of forces, along with incoming reserve troops, army aviation strikes and artillery fire, foiled the enemy’s attempts to advance deeper into Russian territory in the Kursk area,” the ministry said.

Footage online appeared to show the aftermath of an attack on an ambushed Russian military column in the Rylsk region, about 20 miles from the Ukrainian border. Footage showed the bodies of dozens of Russian soldiers in destroyed vehicles. Russian military analysts speculated that the column was hit using U.S.-provided HIMARS weapons.

The Post could not independently verify these claims. A man who reportedly filmed the video of the convoy was detained and questioned by Russian authorities, according to Rybar, a Russian military blogger with links to the defense ministry.

Simultaneously, Ukraine said Friday that it had hit the Lipetsk military airfield deep inside Russia, 220 miles from Ukraine’s border. Lipetsk’s regional authorities declared a state of emergency, evacuating residents from nearby villages and confirming the detonations at an “energy infrastructure facility.”

Meanwhile, a Russian strike on a supermarket in Kostiantynivka in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region Friday killed at least 11 people and injured 37, according to Ukrainian officials.

Footage from the site showed billowing plumes of smoke and blood spattered on the ground, as well as substantial damage to surrounding shops, vehicles and buildings.

“Russia will answer for this terror,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Telegram, as a rescue operation continued to retrieve victims from under the rubble. “We will do everything to ensure that the world continues to be with Ukraine, supporting our defense and saving the lives of our people.”

Serhiy Morgunov and Isabelle Khurshudyan in Kyiv and Siobhán O’Grady in Dnipro, Ukraine, contributed to this report. John Hudson contributed from Washington, D.C.