Ukrainian troops have pushed 2 kilometers (1.4 miles) deeper into Russia's Kursk Oblast, capturing 5 square kilometers (2 square miles) of territory, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi announced on Aug. 30.
As Kyiv's incursion into Kursk Oblast enters its fourth week, Ukraine reportedly controls over 1,290 square kilometers (500 square miles) and 100 settlements, including the town of Sudzha, according to Syrskyi on Aug. 27.
These claims have not been independently verified by The Kyiv Independent.
Syrskyi confirmed that the offensive in Kursk Oblast is ongoing, while the most challenging conditions on the front line persist in the Pokrosvk direction in Donetsk Oblast.
Elsewhere along the front, the situation is described as "complicated but under control," Syrskyi added.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Aug. 28 that Ukraine continues to "expand the territory under our control in the designated areas near the border of Ukraine," but did not provide specific details.
Citing Russian milbloggers, the Institute for the Study of War on Aug. 28 said that Ukrainian forces "are now attempting to dig in and hold select areas they recently seized."
Speaking at the Ukraine 2024 Independence forum in Kyiv on Aug. 27, Zelensky said that the ongoing Kursk incursion is one part of a plan for victory that he would present U.S. President Joe Biden during a meeting in September.
Francis Farrell
