Ukrainian forces are continuing to make advances six days into their surprise incursion into Kursk oblast, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), with a map showing the latest state of play in the Russian border region.
Geolocated footage and reports over the weekend suggest that Ukrainian troops had advanced in two locations in Kursk region—westward and northwestward in Kursk Oblast—amid conflicting accounts from Russian military bloggers about the operation from Kyiv.
Russian Telegram channel Notes of a Veteran said on Monday that the town of Sudzha is under full control of Ukrainian forces, while other sources claimed that Ukrainian forces had advanced south of the settlement of Korenevo.
The latest ISW map of the operation in the region bordering Ukraine's Sumy oblast shows claims by Russian sources that Kyiv's troops had advanced to the village of Olgovka and near Kremyanoye.
The graphic also indicated how geolocated footage from Saturday showed Ukrainian advances further east, in Cherkasskoye Porechnoye.
It comes amid speculation about the objectives of Ukraine's advances and how Russia might respond. Elina Beketova, democracy fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), told Newsweek Kyiv may have intended a tactical move to distract Russian forces and seize the initiative unexpectedly.
"The Kursk region may have been chosen because it was a planned launch point for Russian attacks on Sumy Oblast, which has been heavily shelled for a long time," she said.
"Ukrainian troops might have achieved operational surprise. This is similar to what happened in 2022 when Ukrainian soldiers liberated the Kherson and Kharkiv regions.
"Ukrainian forces might try to counterattack where Russians didn't expect it," she said. "Attacking the occupied Kherson region is challenging due to significant Russian units and the need to cross the Dnipro River."
Pro-Moscow military bloggers said Ukrainian troops had entered Gordeevka and Martynovka, although the latter town had been recaptured by Russian troop. That's according to commander of Chechnya's Akhmat special forces, Apti Alaudinov.
It comes amid reports by Ukrainian Telegram channels that dozens of Chechen troops fighting in Kursk had been captured by Ukraine's 225th Separate Assault Brigade, who could prove valuable in a future prisoner swap with Moscow.
The Russian milblogger Two Majors wrote on Telegram on Monday that Ukrainian forces had attacked a bridge over the Seim (Seym) River in the village of Glushkovo in a bid to disrupt Moscow's logistics routes.
In another border region, more than 11,000 people in Belgorod have been evacuated by the authorities as Ukraine's incursion widens, according to the regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov.
Newsweek has contacted the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment.
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