Zelenskyy visits Ukrainian region near Russian incursion area

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited his top general in a northeastern region bordering the area of Russia where his troops are fighting to expand the territory they’ve controlled for more than two weeks after a surprise attack.

Kyiv’s forces took another settlement in Russia’s Kursk region and have increased the number of captured Russian soldiers for later exchange, military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said, according to a post on Zelenskyy’s Telegram channel. The incursion has helped decrease the shelling of Ukraine’s Sumy region, local officials said.

Zelenskyy has said the operation in the Kursk region aims to establish a buffer zone to protect border communities in Ukraine from Russian attacks. NATO allies have cited the risk that the incursion could divert badly needed troops from a fragile front line, according to Western officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The army is seeking to bolster defenses in the east, where Russia has continued to advance toward Pokrovsk and Toretsk, key logistics centers, according to Syrskyi.