Skip to Content Facebook Feature Image

Russia says its troops are battling to push Ukrainian forces back a cross-border incursion in Kursk

News

Russia says its troops are battling to push Ukrainian forces back a cross-border incursion in Kursk
News

News

Russia says its troops are battling to push Ukrainian forces back a cross-border incursion in Kursk

2024-08-09 02:08 Last Updated At:02:10

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian troops are battling to push back Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region on the third day of one of the largest cross-border incursions of the war, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.

A ministry statement said the Russian military and border guards have blocked Ukrainian forces from pushing deeper into the region in southwestern Russia. It added that the army is attacking Ukrainian fighters trying to advance into the area from Ukraine's Sumy region.

“Attempts by individual units to break through deep into the territory in the Kursk direction are being suppressed,” the ministry said.

Ukrainian troops had advanced as much as 15 kilometers (9 miles) into Russian territory, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank. The data that hasn't been officially confirmed.

Kyiv has not commented on the incursion. In a video address to the nation late Thursday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy did not mention the fighting in the Kursk region but emphasized that “Russia brought the war to our land, and it should feel what it has done.”

“Ukrainians know how to achieve their goals,” Zelenskyy said, adding that he received three “productive reports, exactly the kind our country needs now” on Thursday from the commander of Ukraine's armed forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Russia says the military has stemmed Ukrainian advances in the border area about 500 kilometers (about 320 miles) southwest of Moscow, but military bloggers and open source data indicate Ukrainian troops have made gains in several areas in Kursk.

The Kursk region’s acting governor, Alexei Smirnov, briefed Russian President Vladimir Putin on conditions there by video link Thursday. Smirnov said the region plans to equip gas stations with electronic warfare units and to provide them with unspecified armored defense.

Putin, who described the incursion as a “large-scale provocation" that involved “indiscriminate shelling of civilian buildings, residential houses and ambulances” was briefed on the situation by his top military and security officials on Wednesday.

Gen. Valery Gerasimov, the chief of the Russian military's General Staff, told Putin via video link that about 100 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the battle and more than 200 others were wounded. Kursk regional authorities reported Wednesday that at least five civilians, including two ambulance workers, were killed.

It wasn't possible to independently verify the Russian claims. During the war, now in its third year, disinformation and propaganda have played a central role.

John Kirby, the White House’s national security spokesman, declined to comment on the operation and said the Biden administration has reached out to the Ukrainians to better understand the situation.

The cross-border foray would be among Ukraine’s largest since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.

Kyiv’s aim could be to draw Russian reserves to the area, potentially weakening Moscow’s offensive operations in several parts of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, where Russian forces have increased attacks and are advancing gradually toward operationally significant gains.

But it could risk stretching outmanned Ukrainian troops further along the front line, which is more than 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) long.

Even if Russia were to commit reserves to stabilize the new front, given its vast manpower and the relatively small number of Ukrainian forces engaged in the operation, it would likely have little long-term impact. Pulling units from the front line to stabilize the Kursk region would also be time consuming.

However, the operation could boost Ukrainian morale at a time when Kyiv’s forces are facing relentless Russian attacks, with more expected in the coming weeks.

Myhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to Zelenskyy, said Thursday that border region attacks will cause Russia to “start to realize that the war is slowly creeping inside of Russian territory.” He also suggested such an operation would improve Kyiv's hand in the event of negotiations with Moscow.

“When will it be possible to conduct a negotiation process in the way that we can push them or get something from them? Only when the war is not going on according to their scenarios,” he said.

Several Ukrainian brigades stationed along the border region would not comment, along with Ukraine’s Defense Ministry and General Staff.

Russian forces have swiftly repelled previous cross-border incursions, but not before they caused damage and embarrassed authorities.

Responsibility for previous incursions into Russia’s Belgorod and Bryansk regions has been claimed by two murky groups: the Russian Volunteer Corps and the Freedom of Russia Legion, made up of Russian citizens and have fought alongside Ukrainian forces.

The Kursk region’s border with Ukraine is 245 kilometers (150 miles) long, making it possible for saboteur groups to launch swift incursions and capture some ground before Russia deploys reinforcements.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, a Russian soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo taken from video released by the Russian Defense Ministry on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2024, a Russian soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

Next Article

Bitcoin soars past $109,000 ahead of possible early action on crypto by Trump

2025-01-20 23:49 Last Updated At:23:52

WASHINGTON (AP) — The price of bitcoin surged to over $109,000 early Monday, just hours ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, as a pumped up cryptocurrency industry bets he'll take action soon after returning to the White House.

Once a skeptic who said a few years ago that bitcoin “ seems like a scam,” Trump has embraced digital currencies with a convert’s zeal. He's launched a new cryptocurrency venture and vowed on the campaign trail to take steps early in his presidency to make the U.S. into the “crypto capital” of the world.

His promises including creating a U.S. crypto stockpile, enacting industry-friendly regulation and event appointing a crypto “czar” for his administration.

“You’re going to be very happy with me,” Trump told crypto-enthusiasts at a bitcoin conference last summer.

Bitcoin is the world’s most popular cryptocurrency and was created in 2009 as a kind of electronic cash uncontrolled by banks or governments. It and newer forms of cryptocurrencies have moved from the financial fringes to the mainstream in wild fits and starts.

The highly volatile nature of cryptocurrencies as well as their use by criminals, scammers and rogue nations, has attracted plenty of critics, who say the digital currencies have limited utility and often are just Ponzi schemes.

But crypto has so far defied naysayers and survived multiple prolonged price drops in its short lifespan. Wealthy players in the crypto industry, which felt unfairly targeted by the Biden administration, spent heavily to help Trump win November’s election. Bitcoin has surged in price since Trump's victory, topping $100,000 for the first time last month before briefly sliding down to about $90,000. On Friday, it rose about 5%. It jumped more than $9,000 early Monday, according to CoinDesk.

Two years ago, bitcoin was trading at about $20,000.

Trump’s picks for key cabinet and regulatory positions are stocked with crypto supporters, including his choice to lead the Treasury and Commerce departments and the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Key industry players held a first ever "Crypto Ball” on Friday to celebrate the first “crypto president." The event was sold out, with tickets costing several thousand dollars.

Here’s a look at some detailed action Trump might take in the early days of his administration:

As a candidate Trump promised that he would create a special advisory council to provide guidance on creating “clear” and “straightforward” regulations on crypto within the first 100 days of his presidency.

Details about the council and its membership are still unclear, but after winning November’s election, Trump named tech executive and venture capitalist David Sacks to be the administration’s crypto “czar.” Trump also announced in late December that former North Carolina congressional candidate Bo Hines will be the executive director of the “Presidential Council of Advisers for Digital Assets.”

At last year’s bitcoin conference, Trump told crypto supporters that new regulations “will be written by people who love your industry, not hate your industry.” Trump's pick to lead the SEC, Paul Atkins, has been a strong advocate for cryptocurrencies.

Crypto investors and companies chafed as what they said was a hostile Biden administration that went overboard in unfair enforcement actions and accounting policies that have stifled innovation in the industry — particularly at the hands of outgoing SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.

“As far as general expectations from the Trump Administration, I think one of the best things to bet on is a tone change at the SEC,” said Peter Van Valkenburgh, the executive director of the advocacy group Coin Center.

Gensler, who is set to leave as Trump takes office, said in a recent interview with Bloomberg that he’s proud of his office’s actions to police the crypto industry, which he said is “rife with bad actors.”

Trump also promised that as president he’ll ensure the U.S. government stockpiles bitcoin, much like it already does with gold. At the bitcoin conference earlier this summer, Trump said it the U.S. government would keep, rather than auction off, the billions of dollars in bitcoin it has seized through law enforcement actions.

Crypto advocates have posted a draft executive order online that would establish a “Strategic Bitcoin Reserve” as a “permanent national asset” to be administered by the Treasury Department through its Exchange Stabilization Fund. The draft order calls for the Treasury Department to eventually hold at least $21 billion in bitcoin.

Republican Sen. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming has proposed legislation mandating the U.S. government stockpile bitcoin, which advocates said would help diversify government holdings and hedge against financial risks. Critics say bitcoin’s volatility make it a poor choice as a reserve asset.

Creating such a stockpile would also be a “giant step in the direction of bitcoin becoming normalized, becoming legitimatized in the eyes of people who don’t yet see it as legitimate,” said Zack Shapiro, an attorney who is head of policy at the Bitcoin Policy Institute.

At the bitcoin conference earlier this year, Trump received loud cheers when he reiterated a promise to commute the life sentence of Ross Ulbricht, the convicted founder of the drug-selling website Silk Road that used crypto for payments.

Ulbricht’s case has energized some crypto advocates and Libertarian activists, who believe government investigators overreached in building their case against Silk Road.

FILE - Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

FILE - Donald Trump speaks at the Bitcoin 2024 Conference July 27, 2024, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Recommended Articles
Hot · Posts