Ukraine captures Russian town of Sudzha as Kyiv’s forces advance, Zelensky says

By Maria Kostenko, Caitlin Danaher and Sophie Tanno, CNN

(CNN) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that Ukrainian forces have taken control of the Russian town of Sudzha, over a week after his forces launched a cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

Kyiv’s forces have been in the town, located 105 kilometers (65 miles) southwest of the city of Kursk, since last Wednesday, but this is the first confirmation from the Ukrainian president that his army had captured it.

Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukrainian troops have advanced 35 kilometers (21.7 miles) through Russian defenses since the start of their surprise assault, capturing 1,150 square kilometers of territory and 82 settlements.

Syrskyi said a military commandant’s office has been set up in Sudzha “to maintain law and order and meet the priority needs of the population in the controlled territories.”

Sudzha is located next to a Russian gas terminal, a key point for supplying gas from Russia, via Ukraine, to Europe. This has prompted speculation that one of Kyiv’s goals could be to curtail a lucrative source of funding for Moscow.

Ukraine’s ground incursion has forced tens of thousands of Russians from their homes and put Russia on the back foot as it scrambles to repel Kyiv’s troops.

Wednesday saw Ukrainian drones target four Russian airfields in the largest such attack of the war. A source in Ukraine’s security service told CNN the attack targeted four bases in the southwest regions of Kursk and Voronezh, and Nizhny Novgorod, east of Moscow.

Russia’s defense ministry said it destroyed 117 “aircraft-type” drones and four tactical missiles over Kursk and neighboring regions.

Ukraine’s assault – which poses a major embarrassment for the Kremlin – represents a notable change in tactics for Kyiv, marking the first time foreign troops have entered Russian territory since World War II.

Russia has pulled reserves from key battleground areas in Ukraine and Russian-occupied Crimea to repel Kyiv’s advances, a Ukrainian military commander told CNN Wednesday.

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed in an update posted on Telegram Thursday to have recaptured the first village from Ukrainian forces in Kursk region – the settlement of Krupets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed on Monday to “kick the enemy out” of Russia after it emerged that dozens of Russian villages were under Ukrainian control.

Ukraine meanwhile continues its struggle along the eastern front, where Russian forces have been making incremental gains for months. Ukraine on Thursday reported the heaviest fighting in weeks near the eastern city of Pokrovsk. Serhii Dobriak, head of Pokrovsk city military administration, wrote on Telegram that the enemy was “almost right up close to our community” and little more than 6 miles (10km) from the city.

Dobriak continued to urge all citizens to “evacuate without delay.”

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CNN’s Darya Tarasova contributed to this report.