Ukraine has ‘advanced well’ in Russia’s Kursk: Zelensky

KYIV, Ukraine: President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Wednesday that Ukrainian troops had “advanced well” into Russia´s Kursk region, as Kyiv´s biggest cross-border attack stretched into a second week.

The Ukrainian army entered the Kursk region on August 6, capturing dozens of settlements in the biggest offensive by a foreign army on Russian soil since World War II.

“Today we have advanced well in the Kursk region. We are achieving our strategic goal,” Zelensky said in his evening address.

He had also spoken of gains of “one to two kilometres in different areas since the beginning of the day” in a social media post earlier on Wednesday.

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 neighbouring 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.

An AFP analysis of data provided by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) indicated Ukrainian troops had advanced over an area of at least 800 square kilometres of Russia as of Monday.

Russia said it had repelled Ukrainian attempts to push further into five areas of Kursk.

“The attempts by enemy mobile units using armoured equipment to break through deeper into Russian territory have been repelled,” its defence ministry said.

Since launching its invasion in February 2022, Russia has captured territory in southern and eastern Ukraine and subjected Ukrainian cities to missile and drone barrages.

After re-capturing some lost territory in 2022, a long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive last year largely petered out.Ukraine said on 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 defence forces into Russia will stop,” foreign ministry spokesman Georgiy Tykhy said.US President Joe Biden said Tuesday the incursion had given Russian President Vladimir Putin a “real dilemma”.

More than 120,000 Russians have fled their homes in Kursk´s border areas.Ukraine said it would “open humanitarian corridors” for civilians in the captured territory so they can evacuate towards Russia or Ukraine.It also said it would let “international humanitarian organisations” into the area.