Putin sets October 1 deadline for Kursk offensive completion

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has given his soldiers just over a month to push the Ukrainian armed forces out of the occupied territories in the Kursk region. As reported by RBC-Ukraine, citing a source in the military-political leadership, Putin decided that this must happen by October 1.

At the same time, the action to reclaim the territories in the Kursk region should not come at the cost of fighting in the Donbas. This means that the Russian command cannot bring the necessary units from the Donbas to the Kursk region, where the Russians are still advancing and pushing Ukrainians out of their defensive positions.

"The Armed Forces are conducting an offensive operation towards Kursk. During the offensive in the Kursk region, the armed forces pushed deeper into the territory defended by the enemy by a distance of about 27 to 35 kilometres," stated Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian army Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi on Tuesday on television.

According to the commander, the enemy is using manoeuvre defence to prevent further advances by Ukrainian units, forming new military formations, and transferring forces from other directions.

"Further actions of our troops in the Kursk region will directly depend on the development of the operational situation," announced Gen. Syrskyi.

Previously, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the Ukrainian military's offensive deeper into the Kursk region "the greatest investment," suggesting it offers the possibility of ensuring the return of Ukrainian prisoners of war.

As reported by Reuters, Zelensky appealed to Western allies to allow the use of the weapons they provided to attack targets deeper into Russia. He explained that the lack of such consent from Western countries is causing problems for the Ukrainian army, particularly in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have recently made advances.

Source: RBC-Ukraine/UNIAN/PAP