Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky revealed the capture of an additional Russian village during his visit to a border area where Ukrainian forces had crossed into Russia two weeks prior. Meanwhile, Moscow reported that its troops had seized a village in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv also claimed to have launched a drone strike on a southern Russian air base, marking its latest counteroffensive as Russian forces continue their slow advance in eastern Ukraine, 2-1/2 years since Moscow's full-scale invasion. Zelensky met with his top commander, Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, in the Sumy border region, as shown in official video footage of them shaking hands and embracing, though the exact timing of the visit was unclear. Zelensky stated that there had been a reduction in shelling and civilian casualties in Sumy since the Kursk operation, and Ukrainian forces had captured another Russian village. Ukrainian officials previously noted that Kyiv controls over 90 settlements in the area.

Russia announced that its troops had repelled a Ukrainian attempt to infiltrate its border in a different region from the initial incursion on August 6. This raid occurred approximately 240 km from the Ukrainian incursion into the Kursk region in western Russia, suggesting that Kyiv may be expanding the conflict to more border areas. Authorities in Kursk have started installing concrete shelters to protect civilians amid the Ukrainian incursion. Ukrainian troops launched a surprise assault into Kursk on August 6 after failing to achieve significant gains on their own territory since late 2022. Kyiv has reported several battlefield successes since the action, while Moscow has been gradually advancing in eastern Ukraine, exerting pressure on Ukrainian troops fatigued by years of intense combat following Russia's invasion in February 2022. The Russian defense ministry stated that its forces had captured the village of Mezhove in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

Reuters could not independently verify the latest battlefield reports from Kyiv or Moscow. Russia has consistently claimed that the Ukrainian offensive on its soil has been halted, while Ukraine continues to report advances. Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov informed a visiting delegation of US congressmen that Kyiv's attack on Kursk was aimed at protecting Ukraine. Umerov stated that the objectives in Kursk were to eliminate Russian military threats and prevent enemy shelling and attacks on Ukrainian towns and villages. The incursion has bolstered morale among Ukrainians as they prepare to celebrate 33 years of independence from the Soviet Union on Saturday. However, the US Embassy in Kyiv cautioned that there is an increased risk of Russian missile and drone attacks throughout Ukraine in the coming days related to Independence Day. The governor of Russia's Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, reported that a Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance team's attack on Wednesday was thwarted by Russian border guards and military units. A security source in Kyiv revealed that Ukraine had also conducted a drone attack on Russia's Marinovka military airfield in the southern Russian region of Volgograd, targeting a storage site for fuel and glide bombs.

Earlier, Volgograd governor Andrei Bocharov reported that a fire broke out at a military facility after a Ukrainian drone crashed into it on Thursday. Bocharov, posting on Telegram, confirmed that no one was injured and the attack was concentrated in the area of Marinovka village, without specifying the facility attacked. Russia's defense ministry reported that it had shot down 28 drones over Russian territory. The Ukrainian military's General Staff noted that the fighting on the eastern front remained fierce, with Russian troops launching 53 assaults and offensive actions to the east of the transport hub of Pokrovsk in the last 24 hours. The Ukrainian navy reported an attack on a Russian ammunition and fuel storage site on the Moscow-held Kinburn Spit that extends into the Black Sea in occupied southern Ukraine. Ukraine has kept its main objectives in the Kursk region closely guarded but stated that it has established a buffer zone from an area Russia has used for cross-border strikes against Ukrainian targets.