Ukrainian President Zelenskyy says Kyiv troops have full control of the Russian town of Sudzha

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy claims control of Russian town Sudzha, as Ukrainian forces advance into Kursk region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday (August 15) said that Kyiv troops have full control of the Russian town of Sudzha in the Kursk region in their incursion into Russian territory.

The town, the largest that Ukraine has reportedly seized so far, had a prewar population of around 5,000 people. Natural gas flows from West Siberian gas fields through pipes that pass through Sudzha and cross the Ukrainian border into Ukraine’s system.

Mr. Zelenskyy said a Ukrainian military commander’s office is being set up in Sudzha. He didn’t elaborate on the details or the functions of the office.

The claims couldn’t be independently verified.

A Ukrainian drone attack on Russian air bases damaged at least two hangars and other areas, satellite images analyzed by The Associated Press on Thursday show.

Images taken Wednesday by Planet Labs PBC analyzed by the AP show that two hangars at Borisoglebsk Air Base had been struck, with a field of debris seen around both. It was not immediately clear what purpose the hangars served. There also appeared to be damage potentially done to two fighter aircraft at the base.

Separately, at Savasleika Air Base, one burn mark could be seen on the apron in images Wednesday, though there was no apparent damage visible to the fighter jets and other aircraft there.