Ukrainian forces have seized more areas “near the border with Ukraine” during their invasion of Russia’s Kursk region, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily video address on Wednesday evening.
Zelensky did not provide further details, but said more Russian prisoners of war had been captured for a possible exchange.
“Thank you, warriors! This is something that will help bring many of our people back from Russian captivity,” Zelensky said.
On August 6, Ukrainian troops invaded Russia in a surprise attack in the Kursk region.
In his speech on Wednesday, Zelensky said the offensive will help prevent Russia from further pressuring Ukrainian forces in Ukraine’s besieged eastern Donetsk region.
So far, however, there has been no visible improvement among the troops in Donetsk. Western military observers even confirm that Russian troops are making progress in the Pokrovsk district.
Zelensky also admitted that the situation in Donetsk was “extremely difficult”.
“The main Russian efforts and their largest military forces are concentrated there,” he said.
Authorities have ordered residents of Pokrovsk, a strategically important city with a railway junction, to evacuate as Russian troops approach. However, 38,000 people remain in the city, including 1,900 children.
The head of the Donetsk military administration, Vadym Filashkin, announced that all banks in Pokrovsk would remain closed from Monday. Only ATMs would continue to operate.
