Kiev, 12 August 2024 (dpa/MIA) - Ukraine's armed forces on Monday claimed to have made rapid and significant territorial gains during their surprise offensive into Russia's southern Kursk region.

A week into the attack, some 1,000 square kilometres of territory are now under Ukrainian control, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a video conference with military chiefs in Kiev.

The start of the meeting and Syrskyi's remarks were relayed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on X, formerly Twitter.

Earlier, the acting Russian governor of the Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, conceded that there had been territorial losses.

According to Smirnov, Ukrainian troops had advanced 12 kilometres into the territory across a 40-kilometre wide stretch.

This corresponds to about half the number of square kilometres stated by Syrskyi. It was not immediately possible to independently verify the information provided by both sides. 

Zelensky said on X that he instructed the Ukrainian Interior Ministry and the armed forces to draw up a humanitarian plan for the operational area in Russia.

According to Russian authorities, not all civilians have been evacuated from the combat zone, although tens of thousands were reportedly assisted in leaving the area of fighting.

Photo: archive