The Kremlin’s threats of retaliation are a bluff, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy has claimed, with his country’s forces now said to be in control of 90 settlements in the Russian border region of Kursk.
The Ukrainian president told a gathering of diplomats that troops have gained over 1,250 square kilometres in Russia since the surprise incursion two weeks ago, which he said aimed to weaken Moscow’s military and create a buffer zone.
“We are witnessing a significant ideological shift – the naive, illusory concept of so-called red lines regarding Russia, which dominated the assessment of the war by some partners, has crumbled apart these days,” he said on Monday.
But Mr Zelenskyy‘s claims come as a mandatory evacuation order for families with children which has been put in place in the city of Pokrovsk in Ukraine‘s eastern Donetsk region.
Russian troops have steadily advanced towards the city in recent weeks.
If captured, it could compromise Kyiv’s defensive abilities and supply routes and would bring Russia closer to its stated aim of capturing the entirety of Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Around 53,000 people still live in Pokrovsk, according to officials.
Serhiy Dobriak, head of the local military administration, said up to 600 people were leaving the area daily and that municipal services could be cut off within a week as Russian forces are only 10km (six miles) from the outskirts of the city.
Regional governor Vadym Filashkin said a curfew in settlements close to Pokrovsk had been tightened, and the situation was “very difficult”.
‘Battle of the bridges’
Meanwhile, Mr Zelenskyy urged Western countries who have supplied long-range missiles to lift their stipulations that they cannot be used on military targets inside Russia, for fear of crossing “red lines” set out by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“If our partners lifted current restrictions on the use of weapons on Russian territory, we wouldn’t need to physically enter the Kursk region to protect our border communities and eliminate Russia’s potential for aggression,” he said.
Russia has also claimed Ukrainian troops struck and damaged a third bridge on the Seym River that runs through the Kursk region.
Ukraine is yet to comment on the strike, but if true, it leaves Russia with just a pontoon bridge to transfer its forces, Sky News’ defence and security analyst Professor Michael Clarke said.
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While it won’t stop Russia altogether, it will “restrict their ability to reinforce” and a “battle of the bridges is probably about to begin”, professor Clarke said.
More than 121,000 people have been evacuated from nine border districts in the Kursk region, according to Russia’s emergencies ministry.
Russian presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said Moscow was not ready to hold peace talks with Ukraine for now, given the attack on Kursk.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has demanded a full withdrawal of Russian troops from its territory before it sits down for any talks.