Ukraine’s Zelenskyy visits Sumy border area near Kursk incursion zone
Al Jazeera
President tours northeastern region in first visit to border area since Ukrainian forces entered Russian territory.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has visited the border areas in the Sumy region from which his forces staged a major offensive into Russia’s Kursk region this month.
The president said on Thursday that he had met Oleksandr Syrskii, commander-in-chief of the army, receiving reports on the “operational situation across all active combat zones”, in a video posted on social media platform X.
The Ukrainian army’s surprise incursion into Kursk on August 6 saw it take control of dozens of settlements, forcing tens of thousands of civilians to flee and taking hundreds of prisoners captive.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine had “replenished the exchange fund”, a reference to the capture of Russian soldiers who could be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners of war held by Moscow.
Ukrainian officials have said the goals of the offensive included creating a “buffer zone” on Russian territory, seeking an end to the war on “fair” terms and stretching Russian forces.
