Kursk Invasion Map Reveals Where Russia Has Recaptured Territory

Russian forces have recaptured some of Moscow's territory following Ukraine's sweeping Kursk incursion, a battlefield map shows, more than three weeks after the offensive began.

A war map published Thursday by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based think tank, shows Ukraine's claimed positions in Kursk—which borders Ukraine's Sumy region—23 days after its forces kickstarted the armored assault.

While Kyiv's forces recently marginally advanced north of the town of Sudzha in Kursk, Russian troops have likely recaptured the settlements of Ulanok (southeast of Sudzha) and eastern Korenevo, the ISW said in its latest update.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

Kyiv launched its lightning offensive on August 6 and was quickly reported to have seized more territory in the Kursk region than Russia has captured in Ukraine since the beginning of the year.

Kyiv's forces seized control of at least 1,250 square kilometers (482 square miles) of Russian territory and 92 settlements, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on August 19 of the Kursk incursion's progress.

Putin has ordered his forces to push back Ukrainian troops from Kursk by October 1, according to RBC Ukraine. More than 130,000 residents are reported to have been evacuated from the region.

On Thursday, Alexei Smirnov, acting head of the region, announced on his Telegram channel that a new armed volunteer unit called "BARS-Kursk" would be formed to "ensure security" in the region.

The detachment "will become an important link in maintaining law and order in the Kursk region" after undergoing military training, and will work closely with the Russian army.

"The detachment's tasks include not only ensuring security, but also participating in the life support of the resettled areas in order to support the remaining people during this difficult time," Smirnov said.

The ISW said the formation of the defense unit highlights Putin's "unwillingness to counter the incursion more seriously with a mobilization due to the risks of societal discontent or with large-scale redeployments due to possible disruptions to Russia's ongoing offensive operations in eastern Ukraine."

"The formation of these new BARS (Russian Army Combat Reserve) volunteer detachments is consistent with the Kremlin's apparent strategy to avoid re-deploying experienced or combat effective units engaged in fighting in the Pokrovsk or Toretsk directions to Kursk Oblast due to concerns about slowing the tempo of Russian offensive operations in these higher priority directions," the think tank added.

Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via worldnews@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.