Kursk Offensive ‘Has Advanced,’ Says Ukraine’s Army Chief

Oleksandr Syrsky, Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, said Friday that Ukraine’s ongoing incursion into Russia’s Kursk region had advanced further.

“The troops of the offensive group continue to fight and have advanced in some areas from one to three kilometers towards the enemy,” Syrsky told President Volodymyr Zelensky in a video posted on social media, as reported by AFP.

Syrsky said that fighting continued along the entire front line and that he hoped to take “many prisoners” from a battle ongoing in the village of Mala Loknya, about 13 kilometers (8 miles) from the border.

Ukraine launched a surprise offensive into Russia’s Kursk region in the early hours of Aug. 6 and Kyiv claims to have taken control of more than 80 settlements.

Syrsky said on Tuesday, Aug. 14, that Kyiv had already captured 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of Russian territory in the Kursk region.

Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday, Aug. 14, that the operation’s goal is to create a “buffer zone” to prevent Russian shelling of Ukraine. Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the Ukrainian president, said the Kursk operation is part of Ukraine’s efforts to coerce Russia into negotiations.