Ukraine's President Zelenskiy attends a meeting with newly appointed top military commanders in Kyiv.

Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Friday that Kyiv's forces were advancing between one and three kilometres in some areas in the Kursk region, 11 days since beginning an incursion into Russia.

Kyiv has claimed to have taken control of 82 settlements over an area of 1,150 square kilometres (444 square miles) in the region since Aug. 6. Ukraine's foreign ministry put the figure as exceeding what Russia has advanced in Ukraine this year.

Briefing President Volodymyr Zelenskiy via video link, Syrskyi reported fighting in the area of Malaya Loknya, about 11.5 kilometres from the Ukrainian border. He said he hoped the fighting there would allow the Kyiv military to capture "many prisoners".

"The Kursk region operation - we are strengthening our positions and replenishing 'exchange fund' for Ukraine," Zelenskiy said on X after Syrskyi's report.

Kyiv officials said that at least hundreds of Russian troops had been taken prisoners, expressing hope it would speed up the swapping of Ukrainian fighters held in Russian captivity.

Russia has called the incursion a "major provocation" and vowed to retaliate with a "worthy response," more than 2-1/2 years since it launched a full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour.

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Friday its troops repelled Ukrainian attacks in several areas, including near the villages of Gordeevka, Russkoe Porechnoe and others.

Zelenskiy hailed Russia's losses in the Kursk region as "very helpful" for Ukraine's defence.

"It concerns the destruction of the Russian army logistics and the draining of their reserves," he said in an evening address.

Kyiv Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk added on Telegram that aviation was an active part of the operation, targeting the enemy's supply routes and logistics centres. He posted a video of a strike on a bridge.

Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov said Ukraine had destroyed a road bridge over the Seym river in the region's Glushkovsky district.

OBJECTIVE IN THE EAST

The heaviest fighting, though, was ongoing in Ukraine's east where Russian troops for months have been inching towards the strategic hub of Pokrovsk.

Analysts said that distracting Russian forces from the east was one of the aims of Ukraine's Kursk operation. But so far there was no indication of letup in the east.

Russian forces were 10 kilometres from the outskirts of Pokrovsk and about 6 kilometres from nearby Myrnohrad, according to local officials.

"If the objective was to divert the Russian effort from the Donbas, it's failed so far," said Yohann Michel, a French military expert and research fellow at the IESD Institute in Lyon, France.

He said Kyiv was aiming to maximise the effect of the Kursk offensive while Russia was trying to do the same in Ukraine's east.

"It's probably the first one who will blink who will have to stop his own offensive," he said.

Zelenskiy said Ukraine was "not for a second" forgetting about the east and promised fresh weapons deliveries - over what was planned - to strengthen the positions.

AfriPrime App link:  FREE to download...

https://www.amazon.com/Africircle-AfriPrime/dp/B0D2M3F2JT

Ukraine Continues Advance Into Kursk Region: Army Chief Syrskyi

Ukrainian forces are continuing to fight in Russia’s Kursk region and have advanced in some areas by as much as three kilometers (1.9 miles), Ukrainian Army Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi told President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a video posted on the president’s Telegram on Friday.

The operation in Kursk proceeded as planned, Syrskyi said, adding the Ukrainian army expects to take more Russian soldiers prisoner in Malaya Loknyato to be exchanged for captured Ukrainian troops.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Thursday that his troops took full control of the Russian town of Sudzha in the Kursk region. He says a command post is being set up there. Ukraine now controls 1,150 square kilometers (444 square miles) of Russian territory, including 82 villages and towns, since the incursion that began 10 days ago, according to Ukrainian officials.

AfriPrime App link:  FREE to download...

https://www.amazon.com/Africircle-AfriPrime/dp/B0D2M3F2JT

Ukraine says it now controls over 80 Russian settlements, including town of Sudzha

Ukraine now controls over 80 Russian settlements, including the town of Sudzha, since launching its major incursion into the Kursk region last week, Ukrainian officials said Thursday.

Ukrainian troops have advanced more than 21 miles inside Russia and are now in control of 82 settlements and approximately 444 square miles of territory in the Kursk region, Ukrainian Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi reported on Thursday.

Ukraine has also set up its first military office in the region, Syrskyi said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in a video message Thursday that a Ukrainian military commandant's office is being established in Sudzha following "the completion of the liberation of the town" from the Russian military.

"Several other settlements have also been liberated. In total, there are already more than 80 of them," he said.

Ukrainian forces have continued to advance since launching their incursion into Russia. As of Tuesday, Zelenskyy said 74 communities -- which are largely small villages and hamlets -- were under Ukrainian control in the Kursk region.

Syrskyi said Wednesday that Ukrainian forces had completed search-and-destroy operations for Russian forces still in Sudzha, the main border town from which Ukrainian forces have been expanding their bridgehead inside Russia.

Amid the advance, mass evacuations are underway in the Kursk region and elsewhere.

Over 720 people have left border areas in the Kursk region over the past 24 hours, the Russian Emergency Situations Ministry said on Thursday.

Provisional accommodation centers in 14 regions have received 9,500 people, including more than 6,500 in the Kursk region, the ministry said.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said Thursday that the military is "allocating additional forces" among its measures to increase security in regions bordering Ukraine.

"We are talking, first of all, about increasing the efficiency of the troop command and control system in interaction with other law enforcement agencies and the administration of the Belgorod region, about identifying responsible officials, as well as allocating additional forces and means that will be sent to carry out the main tasks," Belousov was quoted by the defense ministry as saying.

Meanwhile, in Ukraine, Russian forces have been trying to advance towards the logistics hub of Pokrovsk for months, inching forward incrementally.

The head of the Civil Military Administration in Pokrovsk said Thursday that the "enemy almost approached our community to the city of Pokrovsk" and was a little more than six miles from the outskirts of the city.

AfriPrime App link:  FREE to download...

https://www.amazon.com/Africircle-AfriPrime/dp/B0D2M3F2JT