Chief of Staff Gerasimov: Ukrainian offensive in Kursk stopped, they will be defeated

Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov promised Russian President Vladimir Putin to defeat the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) that entered the Kursk region of Russia, TASS reports.

According to Gerasimov, there were up to 1,000 Ukrainian fighters in the group of forces that attacked the Kursk region of Russia.

The Russian troops have stopped the advance of the Armed Forces of Ukraine into the Kursk direction, Valery Gerasimov also said.

"The advance of the enemy deep into the territory in the Kursk direction has been stopped. At present, units of the Sever (North) group of forces, together with border agencies of the FSB of Russia, continue to annihilate the enemy," he said.

He also promised that the operation will end with the defeat of the enemy and the troops reaching the state border.

The Russian Defense Ministry revealed new details of night battles with the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region.

The battles took place in several areas of the region — all of them are adjacent to the border with Ukraine. The operation to destroy the formation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continues, the department said.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian forces are moving fighters and military equipment, air defense systems and electronic warfare systems to the Kursk region.

The Defense Ministry noted that border guards of the Russian FSB took part in the clashes.

The Russian army did not let the Ukrainian troops move deeper into the Russian territory, the Defense Ministry said.

The Russian Armed Forces use artillery and missile systems to respond to the attack on the Kursk region. Then Russian forces also attack Ukrainian reserves in Ukraine, the Defense Ministry added.

Ukraine loses at least 260 fighters

As reported by the Russian Defense Ministry, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost up to 260 fighters in border areas over the past 24 hours. In addition, Kyiv has lost 50 armored vehicles, including 7 tanks, 8 armored personnel carriers, and 3 infantry fighting vehicles.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine have also lost 31 armored vehicles. Two self-propelled anti-aircraft missile systems, a UR-77 mine clearing unit, and an electronic warfare station were also destroyed.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked the Kursk region of Russia on August 6. The town of Sudzha came under heavy shelling from Ukraine early in the morning of Aug. 6. As many as 300 Ukrainian soldiers, as well as 11 tanks and about 20 armored combat vehicles, attempted to break through the Russian border in the area of ​​the settlements of Nikolayevo-Daryino and Oleshnya.

Dozens of civilians were hurt in the attack. Several people were killed, but the death toll among civilians remains unknown yet. About 90 percent of residents of the four affected settlements have left their homes.

Putin comments on Kursk crisis

Vladimir Putin commented on the crisis in the Kursk region. The president made a short statement before the start of the meeting with members of the government on August 6. Putin called the attack on the Russian region a "large-scale provocation." According to him, Kiev "is conducting indiscriminate shooting from various types of weapons, including missiles, targeting civilian buildings, residential buildings, and ambulances." He added that after the meeting with the government, he would hold a meeting with the heads of law enforcement agencies.

Acting head of the Kursk region Alexei Smirnov informed the president about the situation in the region and said that it was "under control." According to Smirnov, as many as 200 people have been evacuated from the combat zone. Thousands of people have left the area of hostilities.

Situation in Sudzha remains extremely tense

The situation in the 5,000-strong town of Sudzha remains extremely tense, the head of the settlement Vitaly Slashchev told RIA Novosti on the afternoon of August 7.

"It's very tense here… there's no time to talk, a lot of people are calling about evacuation," he said.

The Kursk authorities reported a total of five civilian deaths. The number of injured reached 24 people, six of them are children, Russian Health Minister Aid Alexei Kuznetsov said.

First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov instructed the Ministry of Finance to allocate 1.8 billion rubles for certificates for the resettlement of residents of the Kursk region.