A top Ukrainian commander has claimed that Kyiv’s forces are in control of at least 1,000 square kilometers of Russia’s Kursk region. British news outlet BBC reported this on Tuesday, August 13.
The report states that this is Ukraine’s largest cross-border incursion in the two-and-a-half-year war. Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said that Ukrainian forces will continue to carry out offensive operations in the Kursk region.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that Russia had brought the war to Ukraine, but now that war is being brought back to Russia.
In response, Russian authorities have evacuated approximately 121,000 residents from the Kursk region. In a meeting with President Putin, the acting governor of Kursk, Alexei Smirnov, mentioned that the “situation is very difficult” and acknowledged that Ukrainian forces now control 28 villages in the region.
Moreover, there are still 2,000 Russian citizens remaining in the areas controlled by Ukraine. In response to the attacks, Russian President Putin stated, “Ukraine will receive a fitting response.”
