Ukraine continues to push ahead with its incursion into Russia, now claiming to have taken control of over a thousand square kilometers of Russia’s Kursk region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his forces to take appropriate measures against Kyiv.
Lee Seung-jae has more.
On the seventh day of Ukraine’s incursion into Russian territory, Kyiv’s top military commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi said Monday, that his forces have now taken control of over one thousand square kilometers of the Kursk region.
That’s an area one-and-a-half times larger than South Korea’s capital Seoul.
According to acting Kursk governor Alexey Smirnov, Ukraine has taken control of 28 villages.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted a video on social media platform X, saying that he has ordered the military to establish a humanitarian plan within the operational area, while seeking a strategy for returning prisoners of war.
He’s also seeking to obtain permission from the West to use long-range weapons.
As Ukraine continues to push ahead in its offensive inside Russian territory, Russian President Vladimir Putin presided over an operational meeting on Monday.
According to Russia’s TASS News, the Russian leader instructed his forces to drive the Ukrainian military out of its territory, and ensure stable border security.
Putin also claimed that Kyiv launched attacks on the mainland to gain an advantage in future peace negotiations, while destabilizing Russian society.
He slammed Ukraine for its “provocation” that resulted in many casualties, and vowed to respond appropriately.
Concerns are also rising that the natural gas transport routes to Europe will be blocked, due to the Ukrainian offensives in the border areas of Russia’s mainland, where its natural gas facilities are located.
Natural gas produced in Siberia is exported mainly to countries like Slovakia, Hungary, and Austria through a pipeline located in the Kursk region.
Last year, half of all Russian natural gas exports to Europe were supplied through this pipeline.
Europe experienced a temporary energy crisis when the Nord Stream gas pipeline exploded in September 2022, allegedly due to sabotage.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
source : https://www.arirang.com/news/view?id=274625
