The Russia-Ukraine Situation: The Ukrainian Army's Actions in Kursk Trigger Multiple Impacts.

On August 12 local time, the acting governor of the Kursk Oblast in Russia reported to Putin, stating that about 2,000 people and 28 settlements were controlled by the Ukrainian army. Putin emphasized that the Ukrainian army must be driven out of Russian territory.

On August 13, officials in the city of Ligov in the Kursk Oblast pointed out that the news that the Ukrainian army had arrived in the city and was only 15 kilometers away from the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant was false and fabricated by the Ukrainian army.

On August 12, the Ukrainian army publicly claimed for the first time that it had controlled about 1,000 square kilometers of land in the Kursk Oblast. Ukrainian President Zelensky praised the military operation, stating that the war had spread to Russian territory.

The Ukrainian army raided the Russian territory of the Kursk Oblast on August 6, and then both sides had a fierce conflict here. On the 11th, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the Russian armed forces were responding to the Ukrainian army's attack on Russian territory.

On August 13, the Ukrainian Air Force said that Russia launched 38 attack drones and two Iskander-M ballistic missiles at Ukraine overnight. 30 drones were destroyed in eight Ukrainian regions, but the whereabouts of the undestroyed weapons were unknown.

The authorities of the Sumy Oblast in Ukraine, which borders the Kursk Oblast, said that the attack injured one person, damaged power lines and gas pipelines, cut off power and gas supplies to some residents, and damaged a hospital building and several cars.

The acting governor of the Kursk Oblast, Alexei Smirnov, reported to Putin that the Ukrainian army advanced 12 kilometers, controlled 28 settlements, 12 civilians were killed, 121 were injured, including 10 children, and about 121,000 people were evacuated or left on their own. Smirnov also said it was difficult to track the Ukrainian army, and some used forged Russian identity cards.

The governor of the Belgorod Oblast also announced the evacuation of people in areas close to the Ukrainian border.

The Ukrainian side's actions were highly confidential and with unclear goals, catching the Russian army off guard. Putin said that this operation caused more than 100,000 civilians to flee. The Ukrainian side wanted to gain bargaining chips for negotiations, but it did not cause riots among the Russian people. Instead, the number of voluntary recruits increased.

Analysts believe that this move by the Ukrainian side may be to relieve pressure in other directions on the front line and obtain bargaining chips, but it may lead to an escalation of the conflict.