Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy yesterday said his forces were “strengthening” their positions in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv has been mounting a major ground offensive.
His comments came a day after Russian officials accused Ukraine of destroying a key bridge across the Seym River, which cuts through the border region, as Kyiv seeks to disrupt the movement of Moscow’s troops in the area.
Ukranian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky “reported on the strengthening of the positions of our forces in the Kursk region and the expansion of stabilized territory,” Zelenskiy wrote on Telegram.
Photo: Reuters
“As of this morning, we have replenished the exchange fund for our country,” he said, referring to Russian soldiers Ukraine has captured to be used in prisoner swaps.
“I thank all the soldiers and commanders who are taking Russian soldiers prisoner and thus bringing the release of our soldiers and civilians held by Russia closer,” Zelenskiy said.
On Friday, Syrsky said that Ukrainian troops had advanced 1km to 3km into Russian territory.
Photo: AP
He said earlier this week that Ukraine controlled more than 1,000km2 inside Russia, but Moscow disputes the claim and it cannot be independently verified.
Ukraine’s army launched its surprise offensive into Russia on Tuesday last week, claiming to capture several dozen villages in the biggest cross-border attack on Russian soil since World War II.
However, Russia yesterday said it had repelled Ukrainian forces near the town of Korenevo and the villages of Russkoye and Cherkasskoye Porechnoye in the Kursk region.
Zelenskiy separately said the situation on the eastern front near the towns of Pokrovsk and Toretsk was “under control,” after Russia said that it had made a string of advances toward them in the past few weeks.
There were “dozens of Russian assaults on our positions over the last day, but our soldiers and units are doing everything to destroy the occupier and repel the attacks,” Zelenskiy said.
Meanwhile, a Russian missile strike sparked a blaze in the Ukrainian city of Sumy.
Two people were injured in the strike, which also damaged cars and nearby buildings, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service said.
It said that the hit had involved an Iskander-K cruise missile and an aerial bomb.
The Ukrainian Air Force also said it had shot down 14 Russian drones overnight, including over the Kyiv region.
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