Latest announcement from Russia and Ukraine on the battlefield situation and developments in Kursk

In its latest battlefield situation update report, the Russian Ministry of Defense said that its forces used Iskander tactical ballistic missiles to destroy 15 commanding officers of the 22nd mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Army along the border of Kursk province.

According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, recently, the country's army destroyed a total of 1,120 Ukrainian soldiers and 140 pieces of weapons and equipment in the Kursk direction, including 22 tanks and 20 armored personnel carriers.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that its forces continue to repel Ukrainian attempts to penetrate into the territory of the Russian Federation.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that Russian air defense systems destroyed 26 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in the sky over Kursk province and six other aircraft in the sky over Yaroslavl region on the night of August 9.

According to the US news agency AP, on August 10, the Russian Ministry of Defense released footage showing Su-34 fighter jets dropping aerial bombs in the Kursk border area at night, targeting Ukrainian military personnel and equipment.

Meanwhile, Russia's state-run Zvezda television channel aired a video showing a drone in Kursk destroying a US-made Ukrainian army mine-resistant vehicle.

For its part, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that on August 10 a total of 72 battles took place in the frontline areas, one-third of which took place in the Pokrovsk direction.

In addition, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Russian military carried out airstrikes near the border area of ​​the Sumy region in Ukraine.

Also on August 10, Ukraine's defense intelligence agency reported that its military destroyed a Russian military patrol boat and damaged three others with unmanned vehicles near the Black Sea village in western Crimea from the night of August 9 to the early morning of August 10.

On the same day, Ukrainian Navy spokesman Dmytro Pletenchuk said on social media that the navy, in coordination with the Defense Intelligence Agency, attacked a Russian-controlled natural gas rig in the Black Sea.

Mr. Pletenchuk asserted that there were no civilians on the rig because it was not performing its regular functions but was being used by Russia to disrupt the operation of a temporary grain corridor in the Black Sea.

Russia has yet to respond to this statement.

On August 6, the Russian military said that pro-Ukrainian forces had entered the Kursk region, deploying about 1,000 troops, more than 20 armored vehicles and tanks. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations later declared a state of emergency in Kursk.

On August 7, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian army, General Valery Gerasimov, reported that the Ukrainian attack had been stopped by the Russian army and that the operation to repel the intruders was underway.

However, according to the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Ukrainian army has advanced as far as 35 km into Kursk province, although they are said to not have full control of the area.

Meanwhile, the German radio station said there were reports of fierce fighting, deaths and casualties in Russia's Kursk region.

Following Ukraine's surprise attack on Russia's Kursk region last week, TASS news agency on August 10 quoted local authorities as saying that more than 76,000 people had been evacuated from border areas with Ukraine.

In addition, TASS reported that Russian Federation forces are fiercely fighting against thousands of Ukrainian soldiers who penetrated 20 km deep inside the Kursh region.

This is the largest Ukrainian attack on Russian sovereign territory since Russia's special military operation in Ukraine began in 2022.