What did Ukraine's Kursk push look like on 15 August?

What did Ukraine's incursion into Russia amount to by 15 August 2024? The day's reports suggest an operation that had moved beyond a raid and into the early stages of holding ground, while fighting continued elsewhere on the front.

From advance to administration

On 13 August 2024, Ukraine said its troops were still advancing in Kursk Oblast and controlled 74 settlements inside Russia. The Russian Defence Ministry said its forces were fighting the Ukrainians about 28 km (17 mi) from the border. On 14 August, Russia evacuated thousands more civilians from borderland areas of the oblast as Ukrainian forces progressed deeper.

By 15 August, Ukraine had established a military administration in Sudzha, with major general Eduard Moskalyov appointed as its senior commander. General Oleksandr Syrskyi said the administration would maintain law and order in the region. Later, Ukrainian forces held Sudzha and other settlements until March 2025, according to background accounts, but that outcome was not known on the covered date.

The same day, Ukrainian troops and military vehicles were reported to have entered Russia's Belgorod Oblast, where the region declared a state of emergency and heavy fighting was reportedly under way. That widened the area of Russian territory affected beyond Kursk Oblast.

Prisoners and a possible exchange

The Security Service of Ukraine said it had captured 102 Russian servicemen as prisoners of war, the largest single group of Russian soldiers to surrender during the conflict. A day earlier, Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, had said more than 100 Russian soldiers were captured in 24 hours in Kursk Oblast, and that he was open to exchanging them for Ukrainian prisoners of war. The numbers gave Kyiv potential leverage in any future exchange, though the reports did not describe any negotiation.

Western weapons and the question of limits

The United Kingdom said on 15 August that Ukraine could use British weaponry, including Challenger 2 tanks, for military operations inside Russia. The Challenger 2 is a British main battle tank that is in service with Ukraine as well as the UK and Oman. The statement addressed the use of supplied equipment on Russian soil at a moment when Ukrainian forces were operating there.

On 14 August, Ukrainian drones had also struck the Borisoglebsk air base in Russia's Voronezh Oblast, destroying several hangars, a sign that strikes inside Russia were not confined to the ground offensive.

Pressure elsewhere

The incursion unfolded alongside fighting in Donetsk Oblast. On 15 August, the military administration of Pokrovsk ordered immediate evacuation of its citizens because of shelling by Russian troops about 10 km from the city. Ukraine was thus operating inside Russia while civilians were being moved out of a city on the eastern front.

A separate dispute over Nord Stream

A different security story ran in parallel. On 14 August, Germany issued its first arrest warrant related to the 2022 Nord Stream pipeline sabotage, for a Ukrainian man who crossed the border from Poland into Ukraine before the arrest could be carried out. On 15 August, Ukraine denied involvement in the explosions that damaged the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and accused Russia of causing them.

What the day showed

Taken together, the reports from 13 to 15 August show an operation consolidating: territory claimed, administration set up, prisoners taken and a key partner confirming that its weapons could be used. They also show Russia responding with evacuations and a regional emergency, while pressure on Pokrovsk continued. How long the Ukrainian presence would last was not yet known on 15 August 2024.