MOSCOW (dpa-AFX) - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia's troop build-up in Kursk to defend its southern region from surprise counter attack by Ukrainian forces has reached nearly 50,000.
'Our men are holding back... 50,000 of the occupier's army personnel who, due to the Kursk operation, cannot be deployed to other Russian offensive directions on our territory,' Zelensky said in an address to the nation Monday.
According to Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, 'tens of thousands of enemies from the best Russian assault units would have been storming' Ukrainian positions in Donetsk region if Ukraine's forces had'nt mounted pressure inside Kursk.
Ukraine launched a surprise attack into Russia's Kursk region in early August aiming to create a 'buffer zone' to prevent future cross-border attacks.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities have reported that there have been more than 100 civilian casualties across the country over the past five days, including children, alongside widespread infrastructure damage.
UN aid coordination office OCHA said that a deadly attack in Zaporizhzhia on Saturday - the second in five days - caused dozens of casualties.
'Authorities also report an increase in drone strikes in the south of the country, especially in the regions of Odesa, Mykolayiv, and Kherson, leading to scores of civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure, which include heating and gas facilities,' UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said.
Copyright(c) 2024 RTTNews.com. All Rights Reserved
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX
© 2024 AFX News
