Kyiv May Have Hit Intelligence 'Gold Mine' With Kursk Train Station Capture

Ukraine may be able to glean key intelligence on Russia's logistics after Kyiv's troops swept over the border into the Kursk town of Sudzha last week, according to open-source intelligence accounts tracking the incursion.

The Sudzha railway station, part of a larger network linking Kursk to other locations in Russia, could be a "gold mine" for Kyiv in deciphering Moscow's logistics chains through schedules and internal communications, one account posted to X. Several other accounts similarly argued that Ukraine could secure access to Russian rail computer systems based at the railway station.

Thousands of Ukrainian troops crossed over into Kursk more than a week ago, launching the most significant advance into Russian territory since the start of full-scale war nearly two-and-a-half years ago. Moscow scrambled to respond, sending reinforcements to the border as Kyiv's fighters quickly advanced, with the town of Sudzha one of the first targets.

Footage posted by Ukrainian activist and fundraiser Serhii Sternenko last week purportedly showed Kyiv's drones striking a Russian train in "used for military logistics," supplying Russian troops battling in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region. The footage was geolocated to Sudzha railway station by a journalist with the U.S.-backed Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe project.

The railway station is located northeast of the main town of Sudzha. Several train stations, including in the town and Korenovo—around 20 miles northwest of Sudzha—have been closed for passenger trains since August 8, according to Russian authorities.

Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email.

One Ukrainian soldier in the Sumy region overlooking Kursk told the BBC that, when Ukrainian troops crossed over the border, "almost immediately they reached the western outskirts" of Sudzha.

The Ukrainian military currently controls 74 settlements in Kursk, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday, as Kyiv officials begin to more openly acknowledge the incursion following days of silence. Ukraine's army chief, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said on Monday that Kyiv controlled just under 400 square miles of Kursk. There is some doubt among Western analysts over whether Ukraine has a full grasp on this territory.

A map drawn up by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) indicated that reports claimed Kyiv controlled the territory around the train station, but that the U.S. think tank couldn't verify this.

Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor of the Kursk region, said during a Monday meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Ukraine had seized control of 28 settlements, with 2,000 residents unaccounted for in these villages. More than 120,000 people have been evacuated from Kursk, according to Smirnov, and the neighboring Belgorod region also started moving residents away from the Ukrainian border earlier this week.

"I say it straight: the crisis has not yet been overcome," Smirnov said on Tuesday. The candor of the acting regional governor contrasts with the rhetoric from Moscow, with officials saying that Russia had stemmed Ukraine's advance.

Russia's influential community of military bloggers have also indicated Kyiv making further gains into the region in recent days. One account said early on Wednesday that Ukraine had seized control of high-rise buildings in Sudzha and "set up firing and sniper points on the roofs of buildings."

Kyiv has said it is "not interested in taking the territory of the Kursk region," but that the attack is designed to shield Ukrainian territory from destructive Russian aerial strikes. It is still not yet clear how exactly Ukraine will proceed with its offensive, and what the Kyiv military command deem the full objectives to be.

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