Ukraine is holding the positions in Russia’s Kursk region despite Moscow’s attempt to retake the territories, said President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.
Zelensky said Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrksy briefed him on frontline developments, including Kursk, where Kyiv has been holding onto swathes of Russia’s Kursk region since its surprise offensive in early August.
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“As for the Kursk operation: there were attempts by Russia to push back our positions. But we are holding the defined lines,” Zelensky said in his evening update.
Russia earlier this week said it had recaptured two villages in the Kursk region, and vowed to continue to push Ukrainian forces out of its territory, as reported by AFP.
As per a Friday Kyiv Post analysis, both Ukrainian and Russian sources reported chaotic and bloody fighting, with combatants becoming intermixed at times.
However, US officials believe that Ukraine will be able to hold the territory in Russia’s Kursk region for at least a few more months.
Officials, who spoke to journalists on the condition of anonymity, reported that Ukraine currently faces no significant supply problems in the Kursk region. Russian forces have launched only limited counterattacks and are focusing on advancing in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine has said its Kursk offensive is intended to create a buffer zone in the region to stop shelling of its border areas, though there were speculations that Ukraine could potentially use the Kursk region as a bargaining chip in potential peace talks.
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Ukraine invaded Russia’s Kursk region in August, in response to which Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered that the Ukrainian incursion was to be eliminated by Oct. 1. Kremlin forces were unable to meet that deadline and have still to push Kyiv’s forces out.
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