Kiev [Ukraine], March 10: On March 9, Russia announced that it had launched a counterattack across the border and taken control of territory in Ukraine's Sumy province, while Kyiv government troops struggled to hold on in Russia's Kursk province.
Tensions in Kursk, Sumy, Donetsk
In an update on March 9, the Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had recaptured the village of Lebedevka in Russia's Kursk province, as well as taken control of the village of Novenke in Ukraine 's border province of Sumy , TASS reported.
The capture of the village of Novenke marks the first time Russian troops have taken control of territory in Ukraine's Sumy region since 2022, according to AFP.
On the same day, Russia also put pressure on Ukrainian troops in Kursk province.
According to pro-Russian blogger Yuri Podolyaka, Russian special forces in the past few days have infiltrated a 1.5 meter wide gas pipeline and traveled nearly 16 kilometers before suddenly attacking Ukrainian units from behind near the town of Sudzha.
Blogger Two Majors said fierce fighting broke out between the two sides for control of Sudzha, and that the Russian army surprised the enemy by entering the area through a gas pipeline.
Reuters cited information from open source maps showing that Kyiv's troops in Kursk province were almost surrounded after rapid Russian advances.
Ukrainian paratroopers confirmed that the Russian side used a gas pipeline to try to ambush the country's forces, but the Ukrainian side quickly detected and repelled the enemy with rockets, artillery and UAVs.
Moscow has not officially mentioned the gas pipeline operation, but Major General Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Akhmat special forces of the Russian Republic of Chechnya, posted on Telegram images of special forces soldiers inside a pipeline.
"I am surprised that someone actually believes that Russia could lose the war. Today is a beautiful day," the general said. Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev also confirmed that Russian troops had almost surrounded Ukrainian forces in Kursk and the offensive was continuing.
The Russian military also announced that it was advancing in Donetsk and was approaching the border into Ukraine's central Dnipropetrovsk province, an area that has so far been free of fighting.
Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces had taken control of the village of Kostyantynopil, about 13 km (8 miles) from the border and about 50 km (31 miles) west of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.
Ukrainian UAVs continue to penetrate deep into Russian territory
Mr. Oleg Nikolaev, head of the Chuvash Republic of Russia, said on March 9 that Ukrainian UAVs attacked an oil depot in the city of Cheboksary in the early morning of the same day.
Telegram channels in Russia simultaneously reported that this was the first UAV attack in the Chuvash Republic since Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine.
The Burevestnik oil depot is located more than 900 km from the Ukrainian border. Mr. Nikolaev said the site was under construction and there were no casualties.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, during the night, Russian air defense forces shot down 52 UAVs over the Belgorod region, 13 UAVs in the Lipetsk region, 9 UAVs in the Rostov region, 8 UAVs in the Voronezh region, 3 UAVs in the Astrakhan region, and 1 UAV in the Ryazan, Kursk and Krashodar Krai regions, respectively. These are Russian provinces.
Russia's Astra channel also reported that Ukrainian UAVs attacked oil depots in Lipetsk and Ryazan provinces.
On the same day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russian forces had dropped nearly 1,200 bombs, deployed nearly 870 attack drones (UAVs) and more than 80 missiles of various types against Ukrainian territory in the past week.
The weapons used by Russia to attack Ukraine this week contained more than 82,000 foreign components, according to The Kyiv Independent, citing Mr. Zelensky. Russia has not commented on the information.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
