Zelensky says his troops continue to expand territory under control in Kursk

KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the Ukrainian troops have taken further areas in Russia's Kursk region.

"The Commander-in-Chief (Oleksandr Syrskyi) also reported on our operation in the Kursk region. We continue to expand the territory under our control in the designated areas near the border of Ukraine," Zelensky said in his daily video address on Wednesday evening.

Ukrainian armed forces invaded Russia's Kursk region on August 6, Xinhua news agency reported.

"We must also understand now that all the pressure we have transferred to Russia means that they cannot put any more pressure on our Donetsk region," Zelensky said in his address.

However, the Ukrainian President also noted that the situation in Pokrovsk and other directions in the Donetsk region "is extremely difficult".

"The key Russian efforts and their largest forces are concentrated there, and the resilience of each of our units, our ability to destroy the occupier, are now very important," he said.

Zelensky claimed on Wednesday that his country's troops continued to expand their control in Russia's border region of Kursk, where Kyiv launched an "operation" more than three weeks ago.

"We continue to expand our control over designated areas near Ukraine's border. Today, as every day, our exchange fund has also been replenished," he said in an evening video address.

Zelensky thanked Ukrainian troops for their valour in the border region, saying he had heard a report on the situation regarding Ukraine's operation in the Kursk region from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi earlier in the day during a meeting.

"This is something that will help bring home many of our people from Russian captivity. We must also understand now that all the pressure we have transferred to Russia means that they cannot put any more pressure on our Donetsk region," he said.

He added that Ukraine is working with its partners to provide military supplies to the front lines.

"We continue to insist that their determination now -- lifting the restrictions on long-range strikes for Ukraine now -- will help us to end the war as soon as possible in a fair way for Ukraine and the world as a whole," he said.

Russian authorities have not yet commented on Zelensky's claims, and independent verification is difficult due to the ongoing war.

Kyiv's operation in the Kursk began on the night of August 5-6, when Ukrainian forces entered the region near the town of Sudzha, about 10 km (6.2 miles) from the border.

Putin accused Kyiv of carrying out a :large-scale provocation" and "indiscriminate shooting," defining the incursion as a "terrorist attack".

Days later, Zelensky admitted it was an "operation" by Ukraine's troops, specifying that the goal is to create a "buffer zone" against cross-border attacks by Russia.