Russia said on Monday that its troops had regained control of 100 square kilometers and 12 settlements in Kursk region in a bid to push the Ukrainian army out of the region, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
"Units of the Northern Group of Forces liberated 12 settlements during the offensive... and over 100 square kilometers of the territory of Kursk region," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Ukrainian troops seized at least 1,300 square kilometers of Kursk region in August in an operation that Kiev says is an attempt to gain bargaining chips in future negotiations and force Russia to withdraw its forces from eastern Ukraine. It was the most serious attack on Russian territory since the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, with one of its goals clearly being to embarrass the Kremlin, Reuters notes.
By mid-February, Russia had regained at least 800 sq km of the Kursk region. In recent days, it has launched a major offensive in several directions that threatens to cut off supply lines for Ukrainian troops and potential routes for their withdrawal.
Meanwhile, the chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, visited soldiers fighting in the Kursk region and awarded medals to some of them after Moscow's forces pushed back Ukrainian troops, the defense ministry said.
The ministry said Gerasimov noted Russia's success in destroying Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region and gave the order for further action there after listening to reports on the situation on the ground.
Russia attacked Ukraine with a ballistic missile and 126 drones, and Ukraine's air force said it had shot down an Iskander-M missile and 79 drones, Reuters reported. Another 79 Russian drones failed to reach their targets, possibly after using electronic warfare.
The Russian attack hit a fuel depot and injured at least two people in different parts of Ukraine, Kiev officials said.
The air force has not said what happened to the 12 drones that were not shot down.