Ukraine established a first military administration in the Ukrainian-held parts of Russia's Kursk Oblast, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Aug. 15.
In a report to President Volodymyr Zelensky, Syrskyi said the administration will be led by General Eduard Moskaliov, a former commander of the Joint Forces.
Zelensky said earlier that the creation of special administrative bodies in Kursk Oblast could not be ruled out as the cross-border incursion stretches into its second week.
"Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast advanced 35 kilometers deep and control 1,150 square kilometers of Russian territory," Syrskyi said, adding that 82 Russian settlements are now under Ukraine's control.
Over the past day, Ukraine's troops advanced between 500 meters and 1.5 kilometers in the Russian region, the commander-in-chief reported.
"Except for Sudzha, (Russian forces) have been cleared out from three more settlements of Kursk Oblast," Syrskyi noted. The general reported already on Aug. 14 that Sudzha, a town some 10 kilometers (6 miles) from Ukraine's border, had been cleared of Moscow's troops.
Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi told reporters on Aug. 13 that "unlike Russia, Ukraine does not seek to seize territory" but wants to "protect the lives of our people."
Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast aims to prevent Moscow from sending additional reinforcements to the front in Donbas and stop Russian cross-border strikes, Tykhyi said.
Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said that Ukraine's military is creating a "security zone" on Russian territory to protect Ukrainian border areas.
Vereshchuk said that Ukraine would be conducting humanitarian operations in the area, including creating safe corridors for civilians to evacuate — both toward Ukraine and to other parts of Russia.
International humanitarian organizations will also be allowed to enter the area to support the civilian population and monitor the situation, she added.
