Zelensky announces: Ukraine has captured the town of Sudzha inside Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that Kyiv's forces have established full control over the town of Sudzha, located within Russian borders. This town, which hosts critical infrastructure that transports Russian gas to Europe, stands out as the largest settlement Ukraine has announced it has captured since launching its surprise offensive into Russia.

ACCOUNTS FOR 3 PERCENT OF GAS IMPORTS

Located approximately 10 kilometers inside Russian territory, Sudzha is home to a metering station for Russian natural gas flowing from Western Siberia through Ukrainian pipelines to Europe. This region accounts for approximately 3 percent of Europe's gas imports.

In a briefing he received on Thursday from the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, Zelensky stated that a Ukrainian military commandant's office is being established in the town. According to Zelensky's statements, the capture of the town of Sudzha is the largest of the 80 settlements Ukraine has taken in the last 10 days.

While some residents of the town took shelter in basements to protect themselves from the fighting, many have been evacuated. Meanwhile, Andrey Fedorov, one of Russia's former deputy foreign ministers, said in a statement on state television, "Smart people in Kyiv calculated that they needed to capture this center, so that the Russian army would have to destroy it to take it back." However, it was noted that there is no indication of any interruption in gas flow so far. 

Both Ukraine and Russia claimed on Thursday that they had made progress in the Kursk region. The Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its forces continue to "repel the attack attempts of the Ukrainian armed forces" and have regained control over the Krupets settlement.

BRITISH TANKS IN RUSSIA 

On the other hand, as reported by Sky News, Challenger 2 tanks donated to Ukraine by Britain have been used in active combat on Russian soil. Although the British Ministry of Defense refrained from commenting on this claim, it stated that tanks and other weapons provided to Ukraine are permitted to be used in "operations inside Russia."

Kyiv stated that part of the operation's goal is to create a "buffer zone" that will prevent Russian forces from attacking Ukraine. However, it remains unclear how much territory will be controlled for this purpose and how long this control will be maintained.