"They (Russian forces) are destroying their own people. Despite the fact that Sudzha is in the rear, the Russians are wiping it off the face of the earth," Ukraine's Ground Forces commander Oleksandr Pavliuk said.
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Russian forces "wiping out" Kursk Oblast's Sudzha with bombs, Ukrainian general says
by
Kateryna Denisova August 31, 2024 9:36 PM 2 min read
An administrative building stands damaged as a result of shelling on Aug. 16, 2024 in Sudzha, Russia. (Taras Ibragimov/Suspilne Ukraine/JSC "UA:PBC"/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
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Russian troops are “wiping" the Ukrainian-captured town of Sudzha in Russia's Kursk Oblast "off the face of the earth", Oleksandr Pavliuk, commander of Ukraine's Ground Forces, said on Aug. 31.
Russia is regularly shelling Sudzha and attacking it with
guided aerial bombs and kamikaze
drones, according to Pavliuk.
As Kyiv's incursion into
Kursk Oblast enters its fourth week, Ukraine reportedly controls over 1,290 square kilometers (500 square miles) and
100 settlements, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Aug. 27.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify these claims.
"(Russian forces) are destroying their own people. Despite the fact that Sudzha is in the rear, the Russians are wiping it off the face of the earth," Pavliuk
said.
About 200 residents remain in Sudzha, which had a population of 5,000 before the incursion, the general said. Most of them are elderly.
"According to the international humanitarian law, Ukrainian troops help (the residents of Suzha)," Pavliuk added.
Sudzha is located less than 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border with Ukraine, while the city of
Kursk lies 85 kilometers (53 miles) to the northeast of
Sudzha.
Moscow has redeployed about 30,000 of its troops from other sectors to the Kursk direction, "and this number is growing," Syrskyi said on Aug. 27. At the same time, Russia deployed its most combat-ready units in the
Pokrovsk sector, he added.
President
Volodymyr Zelensky said that the ongoing Kursk incursion is one part of a
plan for victory that he would present to U.S. President Joe Biden during a meeting in September.