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Russia says Ukrainian forces stopped from advancing in Kursk region
“The attempts by enemy mobile units using armored equipment to break through deeper into Russian territory have been repelled,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Zelensky on Wednesday said Ukraine’s army was advancing in Kursk where it launched a surprise offensive last week, AFP reported.
“In the Kursk region, we are moving further. From one to two kilometers in different areas since the beginning of the day. And more than 100 more captured Russian servicemen over the same period... This will speed up the return home of our boys and girls,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian army entered Russia’s Kursk region on August 6, capturing dozens of settlements in the biggest offensive by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II.
Interior Minister Igor Klymenko said Ukraine would create a “buffer zone” in the region to prevent Russian cross-border strikes.
“The creation of a buffer zone in the Kursk region is a step to protect our border communities from daily hostile shelling,” he said.
The neighboring Russian region of Belgorod declared its own state of emergency, as the governor warned the situation was “extremely difficult” due to Ukrainian shelling and drone attacks.
Since launching its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has captured territory in southern and eastern Ukraine and subjected Ukrainian cities to missile and drone barrages.
Ukraine said Tuesday it would not hold on to Russian land it captured and offered to stop raids if Moscow agreed a “just peace”.
“The sooner Russia agrees to restore a just peace... the sooner the raids by the Ukrainian defense forces into Russia will stop,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy said.