Russian soldiers barricade themselves in women's prison

To escape the advancing Ukrainian forces, a group of Russian soldiers barricaded themselves in a women's prison in Kursk.

As Knewz.com has learned, in addition to fortifying the facility and setting up firing positions, Vladimir Putin's men also secured the support of the prison directors.

Russian military bloggers have now reported that the Malaya Loknya prison is almost completely surrounded by Ukrainian troops.

Germany's Picture in Russian, transmitted the latter via his Telegram channel, adding that the attacking troops subjected the facility to continuous artillery fire and drone attacks.

“Meanwhile, several dozen Russian soldiers have entrenched themselves around the colony, erecting barricades and using the prison's watchtowers as firing positions and the massive buildings to protect against Ukrainian attacks,” the newspaper reported.

The prison, which is located just over 13 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, has housed 203 inmates since 2011.

Although inmates have been found to be serving sentences of up to two decades, the exact number of women currently detained at the facility is unknown.

The Russian Ministry of Defense is in conflict with Pictures version of events, claiming that the attackers had since been repelled.

The news comes as the two-week-old Ukrainian military operation in Kursk continues its advance into Russian territory.

Oleksandr Syrskyi, Volodymyr Zelenskyy's top military commander, claims that his forces took control of an area of ​​488 square miles during that period.

This figure exceeds the area of ​​Ukrainian land (1,144 square kilometers) that Putin's forces have captured since the beginning of 2024. But while Ukraine celebrates this success, Russia's forces are rapidly advancing on the key city of Pokrovsk in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk.

As a sign of this, Ukraine admitted to having withdrawn from nearby positions to avoid being encircled.

A press spokesman for the 59th separate motorized brigade, Serhiy Tsehotsky, described the situation:

“There is no point in staying there. So we are forced to leave. But I say: this is not an escape and not abandoning the front. This is a retreat. And this is also one of the ways of fighting. Leveling the front, protecting the health of the soldiers.”

“Recent Russian advances toward Pokrovsk appear to have prompted Ukrainians to withdraw from limited positions southeast of Pokrovsk, and Russian forces have likely failed to achieve their apparent objective of tactically encircling Ukrainian forces in the area,” the Institute for the Study of War said.

The city of Pokrovsk has begun evacuating its citizens in preparation for a full-scale Russian invasion. Zelensky has since also commented on the conditions on the ground, calling them “difficult.” He further noted that his troops are doing everything in their power to “annihilate” the enemy.

According to the Associated Press, the reason for Ukraine's inability to hold the line is inadequate training and inexperienced recruits.

“Commanders and fellow fighters say it is difficult to assemble weapons or coordinate basic combat movements. Some have even abandoned their posts and left the battlefield altogether,” it said on August 21.

“Some people do not want to shoot. They see the enemy in firing position in the trenches, but do not open fire. … That is why our men are dying,” the news agency wrote, citing the complaints of a battalion commander of the 47th Brigade.

“If they don’t use the weapon, they are ineffective.”