Ukraine's top commander said Monday that Kyiv controls about 1,000 square kilometers (3,300 square miles) of Russia's Kursk region, in his first public statement since Ukraine launched its biggest cross-border offensive in nearly 2 1/2 years of full-scale war.
“At the moment, about 1,000 square kilometers (of the territory) of the Russian Federation are under our control,” Oleksandr Syrskyi, the commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, said in a video-linked address to a meeting of Ukrainian government officials chaired by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Up to seven days since its launch, Russia is still having difficulty facing the Ukrainian invasion.
During the meeting, Zelenskyy ordered the preparation of a “humanitarian plan” for the area.
The acting governor of Russia's Kursk region, Alexei Smirnov, said Ukraine had taken control of 28 residential areas. The attack penetrated into Russian territory up to 12 kilometers from the border, with a width of up to 40 kilometers.
In a statement, Zelenskyy said Ukraine's defense ministry and diplomats had been ordered to present a list of “critical steps” that needed to be taken to get permission from Kyiv's Western allies to use long-range weapons in an attack on Russia. (rd/jm)
