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After several days of fighting in southwestern Russia, either claims to have succeeded. The fighting continues.
By Kim Barker
Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine
Russia is repelling Ukraine’s biggest attack on Russian territory since the start of the war, sending reinforcements, tight security measures in border areas and carrying out air movements, according to the Russian Defense Ministry. One of the measures against Ukrainian troops concerned a thermobaric missile that causes a shock wave and suffocates those in its path, the ministry said.
But even as Russia halted the immediate advance of Ukrainian troops who launched a wonderful cross-border attack on the southwestern Kursk region five days ago, Ukrainian forces appear to be holding their ground. On Saturday they claimed to have captured a small village in the near Belgorod region, and analysts say their forces peaked at Kursk in the town of Sudzha, about six miles from the border.
Pasi Paroinen, an analyst at the Black Bird Group, a Finland-based organization that analyzes satellite imagery and social media content on the battlefield, said in an interview that evidence suggests Moscow could block major advances on Russian territory until the end of the period. . week.
“We are now entering the phase where simple progress has been made,” he said of Ukraine’s initial advance. “In this phase, in the first 3 days, the fastest movement occurred,” he added. “And I think that yesterday we will see the effects of the Russian response. »
It is not yet clear what all this means for Ukraine. In the third year of a war that seems largely frozen along a 600-mile front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, the resolve through Ukrainian forces to cross the border into Russia reportedly surprised not only Russia, but also the United States and other countries. Western countries. partners and analysts who spend their days following the movements of war troops.
Some have speculated that Ukraine hoped to pull Russian troops away from the front lines in Ukraine, giving battle-weary Ukrainian troops a well-deserved rest, but analysts say that hasn’t happened.
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