Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday his troops had strengthened positions and expanded territory in Russia’s Kursk region nearly two weeks into their incursion.

Ukraine says it has seized more than 80 settlements over 1,150 square km in Kursk since August 6 in the biggest invasion of Russia since World War Two.

Zelensky said his army chief Oleksander Syrskyi had reported that Ukrainian troops continued their advance and also took more Russian servicemen as prisoners.

“Thank you to all the soldiers and commanders who are taking Russian military prisoners and bringing the release of our soldiers and civilians held by Russia closer,” Zelensky said in a statement on the Telegram messaging app.

“General Syrskyi also reported on strengthening our forces’ positions in the Kursk region and expanding the stabilised territory.”

The Ukrainian military said in its daily report that troops were successfully advancing further in Kursk, without offering more details. It had previously reported 35 km of advances.

Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield developments.

Russia has called the incursion a major provocation and vowed to retaliate with a “worthy response”, more than two-and-a-half years since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Moscow says Ukraine has been using western arms, including probably US-made HIMARS rockets to destroy a bridge.

Zelensky also said that Ukrainian troops had repelled dozens of Russian attacks near Pokrovsk and Toretsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. The military said 51 Russian attacks were stopped near Pokrovsk, a major logistics hub in the eastern region, and another 13 near the town of Toretsk in the last 24 hours.

“Our soldiers and units are doing everything to destroy the occupier and repel the assaults. The situation is under control,” Zelensky said.

Russian assault

Russia kept up its assault on Ukraine on Saturday even as Ukrainian forces pushed into the Kursk border region. A Russian missile sparked a blaze in the city of Sumy that injured two people and also damaged cars and buildings.