Our fighters burned a large number of armored vehicles in the direction of Glushkovo-Tetkino and in the area of Martynovka
During the day, our fighters burned a large number of enemy armored vehicles while repelling attacks in the direction of Glushkovo – Tetkino and in the Martynovka area of the Kursk region. The regional center itself is calm now, local residents are actively collecting humanitarian aid for refugees. Also on August 20, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov announced that he personally makes decisions on all tasks related to the security of the border areas of the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions.
The enemy's equipment is on fire
The situation in the Kursk Region is stable now, the AFU is probing our defensive positions in the Glushkovo – Tetkino direction with small forces, said Roman Alyokhin, adviser to the governor of the Kursk Region.
— The Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to expand the wedge that they have driven into Russian territory, — he explained. — This is their main strategy now. For this reason, attack after attack is underway on Martinovka with a large number of personnel and armored vehicles. Our units are fighting them off with heavy losses for the enemy. Despite this, the APU does not run out of equipment. The enemy also became more active in the area of Malaya Lokni — they tried to knock out our fighters, but could not, having received a worthy rebuff.
Image source: Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation/mil.ru
The adviser to the governor also said that the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russian territory are very large. An unprecedented amount of equipment was knocked out — they have not had such losses yet," he noted.
The missiles are not reaching
Kursk looks like an ordinary city — cafes, shops and public transport are open, there are a lot of people on the streets. Sirens remind us that there are battles on the territory of the region. They are triggered several times during the day, but it is quiet in the city, apparently, missiles are shot down on approach, Izvestia correspondent Dmitry Korotaev reports from the scene.
Temporary accommodation facilities operate on the territory of the city — one of them is located in the city circus. It's lively here — people are carrying humanitarian aid. Food, water and other humanitarian aid are collected in the circus — there is enough of it. There are also many refugees who have recently left unsafe areas.
The city of Kursk
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev
— The Kurds left their homes, and drones hunted them — this is the main leitmotif of their stories, — explains Dmitry Korotaev. — When they left their homes, they were more afraid of these attacks, and many were hit by drones. People say that there are a lot of burnt-out cars on the roads. It is clear that all this was done by the enemy purposefully.
Lgov is under fire
Izvestia correspondent Emil Timashev was in Lgov when the city was first shelled by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. After the missile strike, a huge crater was formed — at least 4 m deep and 10 m in diameter.
According to preliminary information, the enemy beat HIMARS MLRS.
The rocket landed next to the building of the sports and recreation center. The initial goal of the Ukrainian formations was the city center, but our air defense system prevented it from reaching the right point.
While our correspondent was near the place of the first arrival, another explosion was heard just a couple of hundred meters away from him.
— Apparently, the suburb of Lgov has been attacked again. A haze is rising, it's hard to imagine what kind of blow it was. It is quite possible that it was a reconnaissance drone of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which was at a high altitude, but was shot down and fell into a forest plantation," said Emil Timashev.
Helicopters of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the sky over the Kursk region
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Pavel Volkov
According to him, local residents are trying not to panic and, despite the difficult situation, did not leave their homes. Those who evacuated are also returning. Although it is still dangerous in the city.
— It kind of got quieter, and people started coming back. I went to visit a friend in Konyshevka for two days and returned," said Nina Usova, a resident of the Kursk region, choreographer.
The siren turns on periodically in the city. The missile danger in Lgov remains. Those residents whose houses are located in close proximity to the line of contact remain in temporary accommodation.
So Elena Bukharova's family managed to get out of the neighboring Korenevsky district at the last moment. The Ukrainian militants were already nearby, and it was too dangerous to stay in the village.
— The last straw was when my father called and said: "Children, run." And so we just left the village, and rockets were already flying over us," said Anna Tkacheva, a resident of Snagosti.
Many evacuees are still unable to contact their families and friends who remained in the villages where the militants broke in.
A soldier of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation demonstrates the destroyed military equipment of the AFU column
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
— They enter populated areas and shoot them. Children or the elderly, they don't care, they are fascists," said local resident Nikolai Glushchenko.
Residents of the Kursk region are also helped by new regions. For example, one of the shipments of humanitarian cargo arrived from Mariupol, whose residents survived the fighting.
Under the personal control of the Minister of Defense
On August 20, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov announced that he personally makes decisions on all tasks related to the security of the border territories of the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions, if they cannot be solved by responsible officials.
— For each task of the coordinating council in the Ministry, an official has been identified who is responsible for its implementation within a daily period. If it is impossible to solve the problem at my level, the information is brought to me personally, and I make a decision," the head of the military department said at a meeting of the coordinating council on military security of border territories.
Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov takes part in a meeting of the coordination Council
Image source: Photo: RIA Novosti/Vadim Savitsky
The Ministry of Defense also reported that groups of troops "Belgorod", "Kursk" and "Bryansk" have been created in Russia. It is known that the commanders of the groups, along with a representative of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, will be responsible, among other things, "for protecting citizens and territories from attacks by unmanned aerial vehicles and other means of attack."
In addition, Andrei Belousov said that Colonel-General Yunus-Bek Yevkurov had been appointed deputy head of the Coordinating Council for Military Security of the Border Territories of the Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk regions.
The fighting continues
Units of the North group of forces thwarted attempts by enemy assault groups in the direction of the settlements of Borki, Korenevo, Kremyanoye, Russian Kanapelka. In these battles, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost more than 60 people killed and wounded, two tanks, eight armored vehicles and six pieces of automotive equipment.
Reconnaissance and search operations are still being carried out to identify and destroy enemy sabotage groups in the forests.
Mi-28 helicopter of the Russian Aerospace Forces in the Kursk region
Image source: Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev
Accumulations of manpower and equipment of the AFU brigades in the areas of the settlements of Apanasovka, Borki, Viktorovka, Kositsa, Lyubimovka, Plekhovo, Tolstoy Meadow and Bogdanovka were affected. Air strikes were carried out in the Sumy region on the areas of concentration of reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
During the day, up to 350 military personnel and 25 armored vehicles were destroyed, including four tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, two armored personnel carriers, 18 armored vehicles, as well as eight cars, two mortars and an electronic warfare station.
In total, during the fighting in the Kursk direction, the enemy lost more than 4,130 servicemen, 58 tanks, 27 infantry fighting vehicles, 50 armored personnel carriers, 299 armored vehicles, 131 vehicles, 27 artillery pieces, five anti-aircraft missile systems, seven multiple rocket launchers, six electronic warfare stations and four units of engineering equipment.
Vladimir Matveev
Bogdan Stepovoy
Julia Leonova
