On August 18, Ukrainian forces continued to advance along the entire front in the Kursk region and advanced slightly southeast of Suja.
This is what the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) states in its daily analysis.
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Russian military bloggers claim that Ukrainian forces carried out attacks on the outskirts of Korenevo, southwest of Korenevo near Komarovka; east of Korenevo near Olgovka; to the northeast of Korenevo near Alexievski, Safonovka, Kromskie Biki, Kauchuk and Sheptuhovka; to the north of Suja near Cherkasy Porechye and Russian Porechye; and southeast of Suja near Ozerka, Giri and Borki.
Geolocation footage released on August 17 and 18 shows that Ukrainian forces continue to operate throughout the maximum stated extent of Ukrainian advances in Kursk Oblast.
The entry of Ukrainian troops into Kursk Oblast continues to force Russia to redeploy forces from other parts of the theater of operations, and subsequent phases of the fighting in Russia are likely to require more Russian forces and materiel in the area.
Ukraine's invasion of Kursk Oblast and Russia's offensive operations in eastern Ukraine are not in themselves decisive military operations that will win the war. Both Russian and Ukrainian forces are unable to conduct single, decisive operations that win the war, but instead must conduct multiple successive operations with limited operational objectives that fall short of victory but that can collectively achieve strategic objectives.
ISW reiterates that it is too early to assess the results and operational significance of the Ukrainian incursion into Russia and the ongoing Russian advance in eastern Ukraine. Moreover, the significance of these operations will not appear in isolation, but will be significant insofar as they are linked to a series of subsequent Russian and Ukrainian campaigns over time.
The ability of Russia and Ukraine to generate enough combat power to man continuous defensive positions without exposed flanks and to establish tactical depth at significant points along the front line forces both sides to attempt breakthrough battles that however, they are so expensive that subsequent exploitation of this breach is often impossible.
Ukraine actually benefits from the flank that the Russians have left open in the Kursk region, but Russia has enough combat power to cover its borders if it wants, but at the cost of pursuing other objectives. Effective planning of the Ukrainian campaign, as well as the Russian campaign, requires the anticipation and planning of multiple consecutive operations, each of which creates conditions for the next operation.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Russian military command likely believe that retaining the initiative across the entire theater of operations is a strategic imperative to winning the war of attrition against Ukraine.
Russian forces seized the initiative across the front in November 2023 and have since been conducting successive offensive operations across eastern and northeastern Ukraine as part of a campaign aimed at overwhelming Ukrainian forces and preventing Ukraine from amassing the resources needed for a counteroffensive. The Russian military command accepted that the months of fighting would continue to produce little tactical success.
And the success of the Ukrainian invasion should not be evaluated in terms of Russian territory captured by Ukrainian forces, ISW emphasizes.
Ukraine's operation in Kursk Oblast has already put operational and strategic pressure on Russian forces across the entire theater of operations, and the next phases of hostilities in Russia are likely to put even more pressure on Putin and the Russian military. The Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast has prompted the Russian military to redeploy up to 11 battalions from the territory of Kursk Oblast and four Russian force groups in other parts of the theater to the front line in Kursk Oblast thus far. However, containment is only the first and probably least resource-intensive phase of the Russian response in Kursk Oblast. Putin and the Kremlin will almost certainly try to reclaim Russian territory in Kursk Oblast that Ukrainian forces have seized, as continued Ukrainian occupation of Russian territory would be a strategic blow to Putin's decades-long effort to cement a legacy of Russian stability, security and geopolitical revival.
On the night of August 17-18, Ukrainian forces attacked a Russian oil depot in the Rostov region, which supplies oil to the Russian army.
Russian Foreign Ministry (MFA) spokeswoman Maria Zakharova denied that Russia plans to participate in reported talks with Ukraine and Qatar on a moratorium on strikes on energy infrastructure.
Recently, Russian forces advanced near Kremina and the city of Donetsk. Ukrainian forces recovered previously lost positions near Siversk.