Russia Maps Show Dramatic Impact of Ukraine Advances in 24 Hours

Ukrainian forces continue to penetrate Russia's defensive lines despite the best efforts of Putin's forces. A new map has revealed the striking progress made by Kyiv in only 24 hours.

On Tuesday, Ukraine launched a surprise cross-border raid into Russia's Kursk region, which borders the country's northeastern Sumy Oblast.

Since then, Russia has scrambled to contain the offensive, declaring a state of emergency in Kursk and evacuating thousands of its citizens from the region.

On Friday morning, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that Ukraine had lost nearly 1,000 servicemen, including 280 in the past 24 hours, as well as 27 armored vehicles during the resulting clashes.

However, Ukraine's incursion has continued unabated, and its progress can be seen on the Aug. 7 and Aug. 8 "campaign assessment" maps from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

According to the ISW, geolocated footage shows that Ukrainian forces have continued to make "rapid advances" into Kursk, with Russian sources claiming that they have now reached as far as 22 miles into the country's territory.

In just 24 hours, Ukraine has reportedly extended its operation as far North as Anastasyevka and Milutino, though ISW could not confirm the reports from Russian military bloggers, and noted that "Ukrainian forces most certainly do not control all of the territory within the maximalist extent of Russian claims about Ukrainian advances in Kursk Oblast."

"The Kremlin will almost certainly endeavor to retake Russian territory in Kursk Oblast that Ukrainian forces have seized and stop Ukrainian activity further into Russia," ISW said. "As substantial Ukrainian advances within Russia would be a strategic blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin's decadeslong effort to cement a legacy of Russian stability, security, and geopolitical resurgence."

While Ukraine has been reticent about its motivations for the attack, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Thursday that the raid was intended to "squeeze something out" of Russia, and ensure that Moscow bargains earnestly in any future negotiations with Kyiv.

Speaking to Newsweek, Matthew Savill, director of Military Sciences at the Royal United Services Institute, said that Ukraine's motives are likely "building back up for another go at a counteroffensive in 2025, to try and make significant territorial gains, to try and effectively reverse the momentum of the war, and to put the Russians on the backfoot."

The country's most recent counteroffensive in the summer of 2023 was widely viewed as a failure given the country's inability to recapture the occupied "land bridge" connecting Crimea to Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy pointed the finger at the U.S. and Europe's insufficient assistance for the operation's lackluster results.

However, Zelensky has confirmed that plans are underway for a new counteroffensive, which Ukrainian General Pavliuk said could commence by the end of 2024.

Savill added that there was also a symbolic motive at play in the Kursk operation, and that Kyiv intends to "send a signal that they've got the stamina for a long conflict, and indeed one in which the balance will turn in their favor."

Do you have a story we should be covering? Do you have any questions about this article? Contact LiveNews@newsweek.com.

Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.