Ukraine says it used US glide bombs in Russia's Kursk region and has retaken some land in Kharkiv
Kyiv, Aug 23: Ukraine's military says it used high-precision glide bombs provided by the United States to carry out strikes in Russia's Kursk region while also claiming to have recaptured some territory in the eastern region of Kharkiv, where Russia launched an offensive in the spring.
Ukraine's Air Force Commander Lt Gen. Mykola Oleschuk issued a video Thursday night purporting to show a Russian platoon base being hit in the Kursk region. He said the attack with GBU-39 bombs resulted in Russian casualties and the destruction of equipment.
The video showed multiple explosions and plumes of smoke rising at the site.
Separately, Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said its forces advanced nearly two sq km (about three-quarters of a square mile) in the Kharkiv region. Details were not divulged about the timing, scale, and area of the offensive, and it's hard to predict if it will have any more impact on the battlefield.
Ukraine's forces have gained new momentum this month after delayed deliveries of US weaponry were finally released. Kyiv launched a shock offensive into Russia's western Kursk region on August 6, while simultaneously intensifying a drone war against military and fuel targets that sparked blazes deep in Russia this week.
On Friday some new details emerged about damage and injuries caused by some of those attacks.
A Ukrainian drone attack targeting a distant Russian air base in its Volgograd region caused significant damage to an airfield that reportedly housed glide bombs used by Moscow in the war, satellite photos analysed Friday by The Associated Press showed.
Meanwhile, an attack on a cargo ferry at the port of Kavkaz in Russia's Krasnodar region on Thursday injured 13 people, Russia's state news agency Tass reported Friday. Citing health officials, Tass said that four of the injured have been hospitalised and one other person remained unaccounted for.
Ukraine's gains have reshaped the battlefield and buoyed the morale of Ukrainians 10 years after Russia first invaded their country, and 2 1/2 years after Moscow launched a full-scale invasion that has led to mass death and destruction and created Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II.
Ukraine and its Western allies hope that the regained momentum could strengthen Kyiv's hand on the diplomatic front.
A visit to Kyiv by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is meeting Friday with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is being closely watched. There are Ukrainian hopes that Modi, who has maintained cordial ties and economic relations with Russian President Vladimir Putin, could play a role in forging a mediated peace.
The incursion into Russia has highlighted Russian vulnerabilities but also further stretched Ukrainian forces, who were already fighting on a frontline running hundreds of km (miles). It has possibly compromised Ukraine's ability to hold back Russian forces who have slowly but steadily gained ground in the Donetsk region, diverting Ukrainian forces who otherwise could bolster defence there.
It's not clear how long Ukraine will be able to hold the land it has seized in Russia.
The Russian Defence Ministry on Friday said that its troops turned back Ukrainian attempts to advance on the Kursk region's villages of Borki and Malaya Loknya. The ministry also reported taking out a reconnaissance and sabotage group near Kamyshevka, 20 km (12 miles) north of Sudzha, which the Ukrainians took.
Ukraine's 3rd Separate Assault Brigade said in a statement published late Thursday that Ukrainian soldiers took control of an area that was held by a Russian battalion, and some strongholds.
Brigade Commander Andrii Biletskyi said that they attacked Russian troops that had superiority “and won,” adding that the ratio of forces on the battlefield was 2.5:1 in Moscow's favour.
The Associated Press was unable to independently verify the claims, and there was no immediate comment from Russia.
Russia launched an offensive in the Kharkiv region in May that led to some gains but soon stalled. Fighting in that area has diminished as the Russian army has concentrated its efforts in Donetsk, part of the industrial Donbas region that Moscow formally annexed but does not fully control.
Russia's springtime advance on Kharkiv was seen as a sign that Ukraine's position was weakening amid the delays of Western military aid.
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
