Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that the Russian counterattack in the southwestern region of Kursk has made little progress.
“They wanted to make a quick breakthrough there. (…) We have not seen any serious success so far,” Zelensky said in Kiev.
Zelensky said Moscow plans to deploy up to 70,000 troops to the region, which was attacked by Ukraine in a surprise offensive last month. About 40,000 Russian troops are already in the area.
“Our army is holding its ground heroically,” Zelensky said.
Zelensky said he was satisfied with the results of the operation so far.
“The enemy has been stopped in the Kharkov region and their advance in the Donetsk region has been slowed down,” he said, arguing that Russia was forced to withdraw troops from offensives in northern and eastern Ukraine to defend its territory in Kursk.