Oleksandr Syrskii admits Pokrovsk situation ‘most problematic’ but insists Kursk offensive having intended effect.Oleksandr Syrskii, Ukraine’s top military commander, has defended Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, saying the offensive was working because Russia had not advanced on a key area of the eastern front in Ukraine for six days.
Kyiv launched its surprise offensive into Kursk on August 6 and says it has captured an estimated 1,300 square kilometres (502sq miles) of territory and dozens of settlements.
Officials have said the offensive was part of a strategy to slow Russia’s advance towards the strategically important town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Speaking to United States broadcast network, CNN, Syrskii said Ukraine was doing “everything possible not to lose Pokrovsk”.
“Over the past six days, the enemy hasn’t advanced a single metre in the Pokrovsk direction,” he said. “In other words, our strategy is working.”
It was not possible to verify the situation on the front line and the claims made by each side.
Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kursk offensive had failed to slow Russia’s advance and that the move had only served to weaken Ukraine’s defences in Donetsk.
Analysts say Russia has moved few soldiers from the Ukrainian east to Kursk, where its forces are supported by conscripts and ethnic Chechen fighters.
It has continued to claim advances towards Pokrovsk, saying it captured several small villages east of Pokrovsk a …
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Kyiv launched its surprise offensive into Kursk on August 6 and says it has captured an estimated 1,300 square kilometres (502sq miles) of territory and dozens of settlements.
Officials have said the offensive was part of a strategy to slow Russia’s advance towards the strategically important town of Pokrovsk in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Speaking to United States broadcast network, CNN, Syrskii said Ukraine was doing “everything possible not to lose Pokrovsk”.
“Over the past six days, the enemy hasn’t advanced a single metre in the Pokrovsk direction,” he said. “In other words, our strategy is working.”
It was not possible to verify the situation on the front line and the claims made by each side.
Earlier on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kursk offensive had failed to slow Russia’s advance and that the move had only served to weaken Ukraine’s defences in Donetsk.
Analysts say Russia has moved few soldiers from the Ukrainian east to Kursk, where its forces are supported by conscripts and ethnic Chechen fighters.
It has continued to claim advances towards Pokrovsk, saying it captured several small villages east of Pokrovsk a …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]