dpa
Kiev
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Tuesday said his country’s forces have seized dozens of Russian localities in the southern region of Kursk, as Kiev began to expand on the objectives of the offensive one week after its troops first crossed the border.
"Ukraine controls 74 communities,” Zelensky said on the social media platform X.
The figure is far higher than Russian authorities have publicized. The acting governor of Kursk, Alexei Smirnov, stated on Monday that 28 localities were under Ukrainian control.
The Ukrainian DeepState mapping project estimates that 44 settlements have been seized, while independent Russian media have put the figure at around 30. Earlier on Tuesday, Kiev said it does not intend to permanently occupy the Russian territory its armed forces have seized during the week-long offensive, which began last Tuesday.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said Ukraine does not need additional territory and sees its conquests as a bargaining chip for future peace negotiations.
Tykhyi said the operation was intended to prevent Russian attacks on the neighbouring Ukrainian region of Sumy, while disrupting Russian logistics to prevent Moscow from deploying additional troops to the main front lines in the Ukrainian region of Donetsk.
"The sooner Russia agrees to restore a just peace ... the sooner the attacks by the Ukrainian defence forces on Russian territory will stop,” the spokesman said, according to Ukrainian media.
In the areas controlled by Ukraine, inspections and stabilization measures are now under way, Zelensky said. "The development of humanitarian solutions for these territories continues,” he stated. The next steps for the offensive are being prepared, the president said, without providing details.
Earlier, Ukrainian and Russian authorities announced further missile and drone attacks across Ukraine. The eastern Ukrainian city of Sumy, a key supply station for Ukrainian forces in Russia, came under overnight rocket attack from Russian forces, the regional military authorities reported on Tuesday.