Russian forces continue to battle Ukrainian troops for control of the strategic border city and vital gas hub of Sudzha in the Kursk region, according to a senior-ranking military commander.
“The enemy is all around and in some parts of the city. Active clashes happen there each day,” Major General Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Akhmat special forces, told Russian state media.
“The enemy can’t claim full control of Sudzha because, in reality, it doesn’t have it,” he added.
Kyiv says its forces have seized control of dozens of towns and cities in the Kursk region since storming across the Russian border last week Tuesday.
Sudzha is home to a pipeline that continues transporting Russian natural gas to Europe despite the ongoing hostilities.
Earlier, Alaudinov told state media that Russian forces were in the “final stages of blocking” the Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region. He previously suggested that the efforts to fully repel the Ukrainian incursion could take “weeks.”
In a video shared on his Telegram channel Wednesday, Alaudinov claimed that Ukraine had deployed between 11,600 and 11,900 soldiers in the Kursk region. Russia’s Defense Ministry previously said Kyiv sent around 1,000 across the border, while Ukrainian officials said that estimate was incorrect.
“[Ukraine has] thrown all of its resources that were more or less operational into the furnace where they won’t escape anymore,” Alaudinov said.
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