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Ukraine: Taken control of a major Russian city

Ukraine takes control of a Russian city

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had taken control of the Russian city of Sudzha.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had taken control of the Russian city of Sudzha in the Kursk region.

Ukraine said it had taken control of the Russian city of Sudzha

The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Ukrainian troops they took control of the Russian city of Sudzha, in the Kursk region, where a major military incursion had been underway since August 6th. Sudzha has around seven thousand inhabitants, but it is the most important center in the region and hosts an important gas pipeline hub that brings Russian gas to Central Europe.

Ukrainian troops are also controlling 82 other locations in the region, with a total territory of 1.150 square kilometers. The Ukrainian president stated that theUkraine is setting up a military command in Sudzha, but did not explain the reasons. Ukrainian General Oleksandr Syrsky said that the army has established an administrative office in the Kursk region that will be responsible for maintaining order and meeting the needs of the Russian population.

Ukraine controls Sudzha: the details

The one underway in the Kursk region is the largest military incursion conducted by the Ukrainian army since the beginning of the war. It is not yet clear what Ukraine's objectives are, but it seems that the army intends to hold on to the captured positions for as long as possible. The Ukrainian authorities have made it clear that they would like to create a “buffer zone” in the conquered areas, to retreat the front and move Russian artillery away from the Ukrainian border.

Already in the first days of the operation the Ukrainian army had managed to occupy a large part of the Kursk region. The area was chosen because it was less fortified than others. The army had managed to enter Sudzha on 6 August.