Russian Forces
Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Thursday that its forces had successfully regained control over the town of Sudzha in the Kursk border region. This victory comes after seven months of Ukrainian occupation, during which Kyiv’s forces seized a significant portion of Russian territory in a surprise ground offensive launched in August.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, units from the “Sever” group played a key role in liberating the settlements of Melovoy, Podol, and Sudzha during a rapid counteroffensive.
This operation has significantly reduced the territory under Ukrainian control from 1,376 square kilometers (531 square miles) to just 140 square kilometers (54 square miles), as reported by DeepState, a battlefield monitoring platform with ties to the Ukrainian military.
Sudzha was the only major town in the Kursk region that remained under Ukrainian control after their initial offensive. However, after intense Russian airstrikes and ground assaults, the town has been retaken, though the area has been left in ruins.
Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky confirmed on Wednesday that heavy combat was still ongoing on the outskirts of Sudzha and claimed the town had been “almost completely destroyed” due to Russian bombardment. Nevertheless, Syrsky stated that Ukrainian forces would continue to defend the remaining occupied areas for as long as necessary.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited the Kursk region a day before the official announcement, expressing confidence that his forces were on the verge of “fully liberating” the first Russian region to come under foreign occupation since World War II.
Following the recapture of Sudzha, Russian authorities evacuated over 100 civilians who had been reported missing during Ukraine’s occupation. Acting Kursk region Governor Alexander Khinshtein confirmed that 120 civilians, including many elderly individuals, were safely transported out of Sudzha. Many of these evacuees had been listed as missing since the August offensive.
Footage released by Russia’s Emergency Situations Ministry showed rescuers assisting civilians onto buses and transporting them to temporary shelters.
Authorities reported that more than 90 evacuees had already been provided with medical and psychological assistance, while efforts to help them restore lost or damaged documents were also underway.
Khinshtein assured the public that evacuation efforts and humanitarian support would continue non-stop to assist those affected by the prolonged conflict.
Meanwhile, Russian Defense Ministry footage from Sudzha revealed scenes of widespread destruction, with burned-out vehicles, debris-filled streets, and heavily damaged buildings scattered throughout the town.
Despite Russia’s success in reclaiming Sudzha, the situation remains tense, with Ukrainian forces still holding onto small pockets of territory within the Kursk region.
However, Russia’s recent counteroffensive suggests that Kyiv’s hopes of using the occupied land as leverage in future peace negotiations may be slipping away.
