Ukraine strengthens positions in Russia’s Kursk region, Zelensky says
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Ukrainian servicemen repairing an armoured personnel carrier near the Russian border in Ukraine's Sumy region.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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KYIV – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug 17 his troops had strengthened positions in Russia’s Kursk region nearly two weeks into their incursion, and called for bold decisions by Kyiv’s allies to allow long-range strikes.
Ukraine says it has seized more than 80 settlements over 1,150 sq km in Kursk since Aug 6 in the biggest invasion of Russia since World War II.
Mr Zelensky said his army chief, Colonel-General Oleksander Syrskyi, had reported that Ukrainian troops continued their advance
He said the operation in the Kursk region was going according to plan and Ukrainian troops continued to advance and strengthen their positions.
Mr Zelensky renewed his calls for Ukraine’s Western allies to allow long-range strikes on Russia.
“The long-range capability for our forces is the answer to all (the) most important, most strategic questions of this war,” he said in his daily video address to the nation.
“We will strengthen our diplomatic work. We will insist that bold steps and bold decisions are needed.”
Western governments providing military aid to Ukraine after Russia’s invasion in February 2022 have so far refused to allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons because of the perceived risk of escalation in the conflict.
The Ukrainian military said in its daily report that troops were successfully advancing farther in Kursk, without offering more details. It had previously reported 35km of advances. Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield developments.
Russia has called the incursion a major provocation and vowed to retaliate with a “worthy response”, more than 2½ years since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Moscow claims Ukraine has been using Western arms, including probably US-made Himars rockets, to destroy a bridge and kill volunteers trying to evacuate civilians.
Mr Zelensky said Ukrainian troops had repelled dozens of Russian attacks near Pokrovsk and Toretsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
The military said 51 Russian attacks were stopped near Pokrovsk, a major logistics hub in the eastern region, and another 13 near the town of Toretsk in the last 24 hours. REUTERS
