Zelenskiy States Ukraine’s Kursk Incursion Has Slowed Moscow’s Eastern Advance, According to Reuters

By Olena Harmash

KYIV (Reuters) – President Volodymyr Zelenskiy announced on Friday that Ukraine’s recent incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region has achieved its goal of hindering Moscow’s progression in the eastern part of Ukraine.

During a conference in Kyiv, Zelenskiy indicated that Russia’s responses in the Kursk area had not yielded any significant outcomes, challenging President Vladimir Putin’s claims of Russian successes on multiple fronts.

On August 6, Ukraine launched a surprise incursion into Kursk, asserting control over numerous settlements within Russian territory. Zelenskiy remarked, “It has produced the results we anticipated. In the Kharkiv region, the enemy’s advance was halted, and their progress in the Donetsk region has been slowed, although the situation remains complex.”

The president stated that Russia currently has about 40,000 troops stationed at the Kursk front, which has launched counterattacks, but he noted, “So far, we have seen no serious success on their part.” This marked his most detailed public assessment of the situation since the inception of the operation in Kursk.

Meanwhile, Russia’s defense ministry claimed that its forces had regained control of 10 out of the 100 villages that Kyiv had reported capturing. However, independent verification of battlefield accounts from both sides by Reuters has not been possible.

As the conflict enters its third year, it remains at a pivotal point, with Russian forces continually targeting Ukrainian infrastructure and cities while working to repel Ukraine’s advances and secure full control of the eastern Donbas region.

Challenges on the Eastern Front

Zelenskiy acknowledged ongoing difficulties near the logistics hub of Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk, although he noted some stabilization in the area over the past week. Ukraine’s General Staff reported that Russian forces were concentrating their assaults near Kurakhove, approximately 33 kilometers south of Pokrovsk.

According to Russia’s Defense Ministry, its troops had captured Dolynivka, located between Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, as part of their gradual advances within the Donetsk region. Earlier, Ukraine’s General Staff had indicated that Dolynivka was one of several locations experiencing heavy fighting. A popular Ukrainian military blog stated that the village had fallen to Russian control on September 2.

While Kyiv’s forces are stretched in the eastern Donetsk region, the military reported repelling 64 assaults near Kurakhove in the last 24 hours, marking the most intense fighting there this month. An additional 36 Russian assaults were thwarted close to Pokrovsk, they added.

Zelenskiy has previously framed the Kursk operation as part of a broader "victory plan" that he plans to present to U.S. President Joe Biden later this month. He stated, “This plan can pave the way for a reliable peace – for the full implementation of the peace formula."

Although details of the plan were not disclosed, Zelenskiy mentioned that it consists of a limited number of points, emphasizing, “All these points depend on Biden’s decision. Not Putin’s."

Ukraine has amplified its calls for Western allies, particularly the United States, to permit long-range strikes into Russia itself, arguing that such measures are crucial for curtailing Moscow’s capacity to launch attacks on Ukraine. However, allies remain hesitant to approve such actions due to concerns that it could escalate the conflict.