President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Monday that Ukrainian forces controlled more than 1,250 square kilometres and 92 settlements in Russia’s Kursk region.

He urged Ukraine’s allies to permit Western weapons strikes deep inside Russia, saying the lack of that permission was the main reason for Ukraine not being able to stop Moscow troop advances on the frontline in the east.

Ukraine, Russia both claim advances in Kursk region

“The naive, illusory concept of so-called red lines regarding Russia, which dominated the assessment of the war by some partners, has crumbled apart in these days somewhere near Sudzha,” he said in an address to ambassadors, referring to the border town in Russia’s Kursk region currently under Ukrainian control.