ALBAWABA - Ukraine's senior commander says his forces have conquered 1,000 square kilometers of the Kursk region, while Russian President Vladimir Putin promises a "worthy response".
With Russia still battling to stop the surprise assault a week later, Ukraine's senior commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, informed President Volodymyr Zelenskiy via video, saying the push into Russian territory was underway.
In a video published on Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Telegram channel, Syrskyi said "We continue to conduct an offensive operation in the Kursk region. Currently, we control about 1,000 square kilometers of the territory of the Russian Federation,".
He provided no other information, maintaining Kyiv's tactic of quiet, which contrasts sharply with last year's counteroffensive, which was planned months in advance and failed due to Russian defensive lines.
Syrskyi stated a few hours after Alexei Smirnov, Russia's acting regional governor of Kursk, estimated that Kyiv's forces had gained control of 28 communities across the region.
Despite being less than half Syrkyi's assessment of Ukrainian advances, Smirnov's words were a remarkable public admission of a major Russian loss more than 29 months after it started a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine.
In a televised meeting with government officials, Putin stated that "one of the obvious goals of the enemy is to sow discord, strife, intimidate people, destroy the unity and cohesion of Russian society".
"The main task is, of course, for the defense ministry to dislodge the enemy from our territories," he said, adding that Kyiv was aiming to obtain a better negotiating position in potential negotiations to end the war and halt Moscow's push in eastern Ukraine.
Putin said Russia would respond by showing "unanimous support for all those in distress” and claimed there had been an increase in men signing up to fight. “The enemy will receive a worthy response," he said.
According to regional governor Alexei Smirnov, 121,000 people have fled the Kursk region since the combat began, which has killed at least 12 civilians and injured 121 more.
