Ukrainian forces left a path of destruction in the Kursk operation. AP visited a seized Russian town
A trail of destruction lies in the path that Ukrainian forces carved on their risky incursion into Russia, blasting through the border and into the Russian town of Sudzha
SUDZHA, Russia (AP) — A trail of destruction lies in the path that Ukrainian forces carved on their risky incursion into Russia, blasting through the border and eventually into the town of Sudzha, where Associated Press journalists traveled Friday on a Ukrainian government-organized trip.
Artillery fire has blown chunks out of a statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin that stands in a central square of the Russian town, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday was fully under his troops' control. The windows of an administrative building are blasted out, and its bright yellow facade is scorched and pockmarked with bullet holes.
Ukrainian forces have overrun one Russian settlement after another in the surprise operation that Kyiv hopes will change the dynamic of the 2½-year-old conflict.
Russia’s military has so far struggled to mount an effective response to the attack on its Kursk region, the largest on the country since World War II. Sudzha, which is 10 kilometers (6 miles) from the border, is the biggest town to fall to Ukraine’s troops since the incursion began Aug. 6.
