MOSCOW: Russia said on Thursday its military had recaptured 10 settlements in the Kursk border region, where Ukraine launched a major cross-border invasion last month.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi also admitted that Russia had launched its own counterattack in the region, but insisted that a shock invasion was still planned.
“Units of the ‘North’ group liberated 10 settlements in two days,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement posted on its Telegram channel.
In late August, Ukraine said it had taken control of about 100 Russian settlements and nearly 1,300 square kilometers of territory.
The surprise offensive launched on August 6 is the first time a foreign military has taken control of parts of Russia since World War II.
“The Russians have launched counter-offensive actions,” Zelenskyy said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.
He did not give details on the extent of the Russian operations, but said the invasion “is taking place in accordance with our Ukrainian plan”. Speaking at a press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausda in Kyiv, Zelensky said: “The Russians have launched a counter-offensive. action. It’s going according to our Ukrainian plan.”
Russian troops are also making quick gains in the eastern Donetsk region. They reportedly captured another village on the outskirts of Pokrovskoe – a key Ukrainian logistics center – and were only 8 km from the city.
A Russian missile demolished the road bridge connecting Pokrovsk with the neighboring town of Mrynohrad and cut off the water supply. Officials described the situation in the area, where thousands of civilians remain despite the bombing, as very difficult.
The governor of the Donetsk region, Vadym Filashkin, said that the conditions in Pokrovsk and the surrounding area will not improve. “I call upon you to evacuate again!” posted on the Telegram messaging app.
In the same province, three Ukrainian staff working for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) were killed and two wounded when an artillery shell hit their truck in the village of Virolyubivka.
