Ukraine, Russia both claim advances in Kursk region

KYIV (AFP) — Ukraine has claimed fresh advances in its offensive into Russia, saying on Thursday it seized over 1,100 square kilometers in the biggest attack by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II.

Ukraine said it now controlled dozens of settlements and Sudzha, a town eight kilometers from the border.

“We have taken control of 1,150 square kilometers of territory and 82 settlements,” said top military commander Oleksandr Syrsky.

Russia, meanwhile, said it had recaptured a village from Ukrainian forces in the Kursk border region and announced it was sending “additional forces” to the neighboring Belgorod region.

Ukrainian troops launched the offensive on 6 August, breaking months of setbacks after battling a Russian invasion for more than two years.

The top general also told President Volodymyr Zelensky the army had set up an administrative office “to maintain law and order and meet the priority needs of the population in the controlled territories.”

Zelensky announced “the completion of the liberation of the town of Sudzha from the Russian military.”