On the Kursk front, the arrival of Russian military reserves stopped the progress of the Ukrainian offensive, Russian media reports.

The Russian army has moved additional tanks, artillery and missile systems to the southern Kursk region and introduced anti-terrorist measures in border areas as it battles the Ukrainian military's sudden incursion into Russian territory. Ukrainian forces, meanwhile, released a video purportedly showing them taking control of the city of Suzhou near the border, the first visual evidence of their cross-border advance.

In further evidence of the damage caused by the Ukrainian counter-offensive, another video posted on social media – authenticated by Reuters – showed a convoy of around 15 burnt-out Russian military trucks lined up by the side of a road in Kursk. region. Some trucks contained dead bodies. The acting governor of the Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, said the debris from the drone fell on a substation near Kurchatov, home to one of Russia's largest four-reactor nuclear power plants. The electricity supply in the area was interrupted for some time.

The head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) urged both sides to show restraint given the conflict's proximity to a power plant located 60 kilometers from the border.

Russian diplomats in Vienna told the IAEA that debris, possibly from downed missiles, had been found, although there was no evidence of an attack on the station. Ukrainian forces breached the border on Tuesday in an attack that surprised the Russian military after months of gradual advances by Russian forces in eastern Ukraine.

Russian politicians and the military are talking about a Ukrainian "invasion", almost two and a half years after Russia launched its own full-scale invasion of its neighbor. Early this morning, Russian news agencies reported that the National Anti-Terrorist Committee had introduced anti-terrorist measures in the Kursk region and the nearby Bryansk and Belgorod regions. The press release stated that the decision, taken by Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB intelligence service, was a response to "Ukraine's unprecedented attempt to destabilize the situation in a number of regions."

A substation has been attacked in the Oktyabrsky district of the Kursk region

There is no light in Kurchatov and five other districts of the region due to a fire at a transformer substation, - the governor's deputy Smirnov. pic.twitter.com/c7U35Z6MgI

- NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 9, 2024

The RIA news agency said the measures include the possible displacement of residents, traffic restrictions, increased security around sensitive areas and wiretapping of communications.

Two days after Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov informed President Vladimir Putin that the advance had halted, Russia's Defense Ministry said its forces "continue to repel an attempted invasion by the armed forces of Ukraine." The Interfax news agency reported the ministry's statement that Russia is sending reinforcements with Grad multi-barrel missile systems, artillery and tanks.

Ukrainians control Suzhi?

Ukrainian footage allegedly shows Ukrainian forces controlling a gas metering station operated by Russian concern Gazprom in the city of Suzhi. "The city is controlled by the armed forces of Ukraine, the city is calm, all the buildings are intact," the soldier says in the video, adding that the "strategic Gazprom facility" is under the control of the Ukrainian battalion.

Reuters could not verify this video, and the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army has not yet commented on the video.

President Volodymyr Zelensky is silent about the operation for now, although two days ago he gave some hints, without mentioning Kursk. He praised his army's ability to "surprise". And in the video address at night, he thanked the military units that captured the Russian soldiers, in order to use them in the later negotiations. "This is extremely important and has been particularly effective in the last three days," he said.

Russian soldiers in the Kursk region surrender as prisoners of war

It is also reported that Dmitriukov and Lyubimovka in #Kursk region has come under the control of the AFU.

The Kursk nuclear power plant is being prepared for defense: Rosgvardeys without combat experience will be… pic.twitter.com/4EiM7mf52A

- NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 9, 2024

The Ukrainian Telegram channel that published the video of the destroyed Russian trucks reported that they were hit by the US-supplied HIMARS missile system. Russian military bloggers also accused the American HIMARS missile system of attacking Russian territory. Reuters could not determine how the vehicles were destroyed.

The United States has announced a new $125 million aid package for Ukraine, including Stinger missiles, artillery ammunition and anti-armor systems. Zelensky said the package was "vital for our forces in countering Russian attacks."

Advance on Russian territory

The Russian Defense Ministry has released its own footage of what it says is a drone destroying a Ukrainian tank and howitzer near Suja. The ministry announced that in the previous 24 hours, Russian troops, airstrikes and artillery "suppressed attempts to attack enemy units deep inside Russian territory in the direction of Kursk."

Ukraine is reported to have lost a total of 945 soldiers and 102 armored vehicles, while Russian losses are not mentioned. Reuters could not confirm those calculations. Gerasimov said on Wednesday that up to 1.000 troops took part in the Ukrainian attack.

The Institute for the Study of War said in a report tonight that geolocation images and Russian calculations showed that Ukrainian forces "continued to advance rapidly". There were unconfirmed reports from Russian sources of Ukrainians as far as 35 kilometers from the border.

The Ukrainian military is tracking the movement of infantry and equipment of the Russian Armed Forces through hacked online cameras located on the houses of local residents in the Kursk Region. pic.twitter.com/G19F3T756A

- NEXTA (@nexta_tv) August 9, 2024