Zelenskyy: Kursk operation has accomplished its mission, situation near Pokrovsk is stable
Photo: President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
The Kursk operation has achieved its main goal — to draw a significant portion of Russian forces away from the Pokrovsk, Kharkiv, and Sumy directions, according to a statement by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting with journalists.
According to him, Ukrainian soldiers demonstrated remarkable resilience, withstanding a powerful enemy assault, which helped ease pressure on critically important frontline areas.
"Our guys are absolutely heroic; they took a strong hit. The first relief came in the Kharkiv direction — Russians pulled the maximum number of troops to Kursk. Then they started withdrawing forces from the East, but they did not abandon their main objective — Pokrovsk," Zelenskyy noted.
The president emphasized that thanks to the Kursk operation, the situation in the Pokrovsk and Kharkiv directions has stabilized, and the enemy will find it "very difficult" to regain the ability to threaten Pokrovsk again.
"I can only thank our soldiers for the Kursk operation. I believe it has fulfilled its mission," he concluded.
Battles in the Kursk region
Since early August 2024, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been conducting an operation in the Kursk region. Its goal was to weaken the enemy’s combat capabilities and force them to divert resources to defend their own territories. As of late summer, Ukrainian forces were known to control 100 settlements in the region.
However, since early March, the situation in the Kursk region has become more complicated. According to RBC-Ukraine sources, Russian forces are attempting to cut off the Sudzha-Sumy road to create an operational encirclement of Ukrainian troops.
Today, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine stated that reports of the alleged encirclement of Ukrainian units in the Kursk region are false. Such claims are being spread by Russian propaganda.
Read more about the battles in the Kursk region and whether the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to maintain the buffer zone in the RBC-Ukraine report.
