Ukraine opens military office in occupied Kursk region, says it is still advancing
Ukraine says forces control 82 settlements, still advancing
Ukraine sets up military office inside Russian border
Russia to beef up border defences, says attacks continue
Russia inches closer to Pokrovsk logistics hub in east
By Olena Harmash and Tom Balmforth
KYIV, Aug 15 (Reuters) -Ukraine's top commander said on Thursday Kyiv had set up a military commandant's office in the occupied part of Russia's Kursk region where he said his forces were still advancing, even as Moscow's troops stepped up its offensives in Ukraine's east.
The remarks by Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi were the strongest sign yet that Kyiv's forces plan to dig in after launching a lightning cross-border assault on Russia last week that has opened a new front in the 2-1/2 year-old all-out war.
"We are moving forward in Kursk region. A military commandant's office has been created which must ensure order and also all the needs of the local population," Syrskyi said in a written statement on his Telegram channel. The office would be headed by Major General Eduard Moskalyov, he said.
Kyiv's surge into Russian territory caught Moscow by surprise, seizing the initiative from the Kremlin's forces who have been grinding out small but steady gains all year in eastern Ukraine. Some 18% of Ukraine is occupied by Russia.
Syrskyi told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a video published by the Ukrainian leader that the incursion had so far advanced 35 km (22 miles) into the Kursk region, capturing 82 settlements and an area of 1,150 square kilometres (444 square miles).
Though far higher than an estimate of 480 square km of territory given by the Russian acting regional governor of Kursk on Monday, the advances are the largest attack on Russia since World War Two and have overturned a perception of a fading Ukraine on the backfoot.
Zelenskiy, who spoke cryptically of the need to move on to the "next steps" in public remarks on Wednesday, again hinted at other possible offensive actions on Russian territory.
"We must clearly guarantee at the legislative level that our warriors, who participate, for example, in the Kursk operation and will participate in all our other actions on the territory of the aggressor state, will receive absolutely all payments and benefits designated for the front line," he said in an address posted on Telegram.
RUSSIA TO TOUGHEN DEFENCES
Russia said Ukrainian forces were still on the attack and that it would beef up its border defences, improve command and control and send in additional forces.
"The enemy is pushing, it is trying to get through from everywhere, push through," said Major General Apti Alaudinov, commander of Chechnya's Akhmat special forces who are fighting in Kursk. "But every day the enemy's forces are melting."
Russian Defence Minister Andrei Belousov said the general staff had prepared a series of measures to defend Russia's border regions of Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod - which cover an area the size of Portugal.
Russian officials have warned that if Western weapons were used on Russian territory, then Moscow would consider that a grave escalation. Russian President Vladimir Putin has vowed to hit back with a "worthy response" to the incursion.
Syrskyi's remarks suggested Kyiv's rate of advance had slowed in the Kursk region. Ukraine, he said, had taken between 500 metres (547 yards) and 1.5 km in the last 24 hours, compared with between 1 and 2 km the day before.
NO LETUP IN THE EAST
Ukraine said there was no sign that Russian military pressure was receding along the eastern front inside its borders and reported the heaviest fighting in weeks near the city of Pokrovsk, an important logistics hub.
The head of the Pokrovsk military administration appealed to locals to evacuate, saying Russian forces were getting closer.
"The enemy has come almost right up to the city of Pokrovsk. Just over 10 kilometres from the outskirts of the city," he said on Telegram.
Syrskyi told Zelenskiy in his report by video link that the situation in the east and south where Russia has already captured swathes of the country was "difficult but under control".
"The main efforts are focused on preventing the enemy from advancing in the directions of Toretsk and Pokrovsk, inflicting maximum losses, and creating favourable conditions for further actions," he said.
War in Ukraine cpurl://apps.cp./cms/?navid=652024685
Reporting by Olena Harmash, Pavel Polityuk and Yuliia Dysa
Writing by Tom Balmforth
Editing by Tomasz Janowski, Philippa Fletcher and Frances Kerry
تازہ ترين خبريں
دستبرداری: XM Group کے ادارے ہماری آن لائن تجارت کی سہولت تک صرف عملدرآمد کی خدمت اور رسائی مہیا کرتے ہیں، کسی شخص کو ویب سائٹ پر یا اس کے ذریعے دستیاب کانٹینٹ کو دیکھنے اور/یا استعمال کرنے کی اجازت دیتا ہے، اس پر تبدیل یا توسیع کا ارادہ نہیں ہے ، اور نہ ہی یہ تبدیل ہوتا ہے یا اس پر وسعت کریں۔ اس طرح کی رسائی اور استعمال ہمیشہ مشروط ہوتا ہے: (i) شرائط و ضوابط؛ (ii) خطرہ انتباہات؛ اور (iii) مکمل دستبرداری۔ لہذا اس طرح کے مواد کو عام معلومات سے زیادہ کے طور پر فراہم کیا جاتا ہے۔ خاص طور پر، براہ کرم آگاہ رہیں کہ ہماری آن لائن تجارت کی سہولت کے مندرجات نہ تو کوئی درخواست ہے، اور نہ ہی فنانشل مارکیٹ میں کوئی لین دین داخل کرنے کی پیش کش ہے۔ کسی بھی فنانشل مارکیٹ میں تجارت میں آپ کے سرمائے کے لئے ایک خاص سطح کا خطرہ ہوتا ہے۔
ہماری آن لائن تجارتی سہولت پر شائع ہونے والے تمام مٹیریل کا مقصد صرف تعلیمی/معلوماتی مقاصد کے لئے ہے، اور اس میں شامل نہیں ہے — اور نہ ہی اسے فنانشل، سرمایہ کاری ٹیکس یا تجارتی مشورے اور سفارشات؛ یا ہماری تجارتی قیمتوں کا ریکارڈ؛ یا کسی بھی فنانشل انسٹرومنٹ میں لین دین کی پیشکش؛ یا اسکے لئے مانگ؛ یا غیر متنازعہ مالی تشہیرات پر مشتمل سمجھا جانا چاہئے۔
کوئی تھرڈ پارٹی کانٹینٹ، نیز XM کے ذریعہ تیار کردہ کانٹینٹ، جیسے: راۓ، خبریں، تحقیق، تجزیہ، قیمتیں اور دیگر معلومات یا اس ویب سائٹ پر مشتمل تھرڈ پارٹی کے سائٹس کے لنکس کو "جیسے ہے" کی بنیاد پر فراہم کیا جاتا ہے، عام مارکیٹ کی تفسیر کے طور پر، اور سرمایہ کاری کے مشورے کو تشکیل نہ دیں۔ اس حد تک کہ کسی بھی کانٹینٹ کو سرمایہ کاری کی تحقیقات کے طور پر سمجھا جاتا ہے، آپ کو نوٹ کرنا اور قبول کرنا ہوگا کہ یہ کانٹینٹ سرمایہ کاری کی تحقیق کی آزادی کو فروغ دینے کے لئے ڈیزائن کردہ قانونی تقاضوں کے مطابق نہیں ہے اور تیار نہیں کیا گیا ہے، اسی طرح، اس پر غور کیا جائے گا بطور متعلقہ قوانین اور ضوابط کے تحت مارکیٹنگ مواصلات۔ براہ کرم یقینی بنائیں کہ آپ غیر آزاد سرمایہ کاری سے متعلق ہماری اطلاع کو پڑھ اور سمجھ چکے ہیں۔ مذکورہ بالا معلومات کے بارے میں تحقیق اور رسک وارننگ ، جس تک رسائی یہاں حاصل کی جا سکتی ہے۔
