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Ukraine Captures Russian Town, Zelensky Says
The fall of Sudzha, about six miles from the border, would be Ukraine’s first capture of a Russian town since its troops crossed into Russian territory 10 days ago.
Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine
Ukrainian troops took full control of the Russian town of Sudzha, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine said on Thursday, in what would be Ukraine’s first capture of a Russian urban center since its troops launched a surprise attack into the country 10 days ago.
Sudzha, a small town about six miles from the border, quickly fell into the path of Ukrainian troops sweeping into Russian territory over the past week. Military experts had said in recent days that Ukrainian forces had seized most, if not all, of the town. And Emil Kastehelmi, an analyst from the Black Bird Group based in Finland, on Thursday called it “very likely” that it was “now controlled by Ukraine.”
Ukrainian troops entered Sudzha a few days into the assault and appeared to have slowly cleared the town and its outskirts of any defenders over the past week, according to military analysts. Videos posted online in recent days by Ukrainian soldiers showed troops in the town, and Ukrainian state television broadcast a report from Sudzha on Wednesday, showing soldiers tearing down a Russian flag from a building. Satellite imagery showed at least two dozen structures were damaged or destroyed in the town and a neighboring village.
Before the assault, Sudzha had about 5,000 residents, many of whom fled, according to residents who joined tens of thousands of others evacuating from parts of the border region. Mr. Zelensky said on Wednesday that “hundreds of Russian soldiers” had surrendered in the region since the start of the attack, though the Ukrainian authorities have declined to share precise details.
The capture of Sudzha could further lift the spirits of Ukrainian civilians and soldiers who have already been buoyed by Kyiv’s daring, and so far relatively successful, incursion after months of losing ground at home. Gen. Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s top commander, said in a statement on Thursday that his troops now controlled an area of about 450 square miles in Russia, a claim that could not be independently confirmed.
Despite a slower pace of advance in recent days, the Ukrainian attacks have continued unabated. On Wednesday, Ukraine said it launched a large drone attack on four military airfields deep inside Russia — including several in or near the Kursk region — hitting and damaging at least two bases.
Ukraine has made many such drone strikes on Russian targets far from the front line, but analysts said the latest appeared to be one of the largest yet. It included 117 drones launched toward multiple Russian regions, including those housing airfields, Russia’s Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. It did not mention any damage.
Satellite imagery verified by The New York Times showed that Russian air bases in Savasleyka and Borisoglebsk, about 400 and 150 miles from the border, had sustained damage, including two hangars that were destroyed and a warehouse that sustained damage.
It was unclear whether any aircraft had been hit. Images from two other airfields that Ukraine’s military claimed it had attacked did not show major damage.
Where Ukraine Hit Russian Airfields
Ukraine has targeted Russian airfields in hopes of crippling Moscow’s ability to launch devastating airstrikes against Ukrainian cities and troops. The four airfields targeted by the Ukrainian military on Wednesday housed Su-34 fighter-bombers, which launch powerful glide bombs, and Su-35 fighter jets, which can carry out missile strikes.
Justin Bronk, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London, said the latest attacks were “part of a much longer-running Ukrainian campaign to hold Russian air bases at threat and cause incremental damage to air assets on the ground.”
Two of the airfields hit in the past week were to the immediate east of Russia’s Kursk region, suggesting that Ukraine may be trying to protect its forces in Russia. The Ukrainian military appears intent on holding on to territory it has captured, and analysts say that fixed Ukrainian positions would be vulnerable to Russian airstrikes.
Ukraine said the attacks on Wednesday had been carried out with domestically produced drones. Western allies have placed restrictions on the use of their weapons in Russia amid fears that doing so would escalate the war.
But Ukraine has continuously appealed for those restrictions to be lifted, saying that missiles would be more effective — a point Mr. Zelensky has raised at least four times in nightly addresses over the last week.
“Our Ukrainian drones work exactly as they should, but there are things that cannot be done with drones alone,” Mr. Zelensky said in his address on Wednesday. “We need other weapons — missile weapons.”
The United States and Britain, two of Kyiv’s closest allies, have said that Ukraine’s incursion into Russia did not violate their policies. Ukraine has used American vehicles and arms in its assault on Kursk. But it remains unclear what exact terms American or British officials may have set for Kyiv’s use of Western-supplied, long-range weapons inside Russian territory.
Ukraine’s long-range strike abilities consist of a mix of domestically produced drones that can fly long distances and powerful missiles supplied by partners. Ukraine has used drones to strike in Russia and the missiles to attack military installations in Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine.
While many of Ukraine’s initial, long-range attacks in Russia were aimed at oil infrastructure and Russian air-defense systems, military airfields appear to be a growing priority.
Last week, Ukraine struck a Russian airfield in the Lipetsk region, which borders Kursk. Satellite imagery reviewed by The Times showed damage to an apparent ammunition depot. Ukraine’s military said warehouses at the Lipetsk airfield contained over 700 glide bombs, a claim that could not be independently confirmed.
Analysts say that Russia will probably be better able to respond to Ukraine’s incursion with air power now that the assault has lost its element of surprise — and since warplanes can target Ukraine’s forces more easily as they dig in to stationary positions.
Ukrainian troops are already doing so, according to Mr. Zelensky, who said on Thursday that a military command office was being set up in Sudzha.
Ukraine’s ability to defend its troops from Russian air attacks may be limited, analysts say. “Enemy aviation, particularly the presence of glide bombs and ballistic missiles, remains a serious threat,” said Serhii Kuzan, the chairman of the Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Center, a nongovernmental research group.
Ukraine recently received its first batch of long-awaited F-16 fighter jets, which are capable of shooting down Russian missiles and engaging in air combat.
But whether F-16s could be used to provide air support for Ukraine’s offensive remains to be seen. Russia’s border area is heavily protected by air-defense systems, according to Nico Lange, a German military expert. That, he said, makes it “really difficult to fly close if you’re the Ukrainian Air Force.”
Malachy Browne and Christoph Koettl contributed reporting.
Constant Méheut reports on the war in Ukraine, including battlefield developments, attacks on civilian centers and how the war is affecting its people. More about Constant Méheut
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