President: Defense forces hold back 64,000 Russians in Kursk sector

This was stated by Volodymyr Zelensky during a press conference, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“They [Russians] need steps, they really want to push us out of the Kursk region completely, but everyone understands and confirms that there is no encirclement [of the Ukrainian military]. We are on the territory of the Kursk region, and not only on the territory of the Kursk region, by the way, there is our presence. They have symbolic dates, (in particular) next month... when they want to show certain victorious steps, but for now we are in control of the situation. We are there, and it is very important for us, we keep a large number of troops - 64,000 Russians in the Kursk direction,” the head of state emphasized.

He emphasized that “this is a very serious group that could spread everywhere and attack us from other directions along the entire front line.”

“The guys there are just great. I awarded them yesterday... it was a great opportunity for me and respect for them. They are just great,” the President added.

At the same time, he emphasized that Russia did not want a ceasefire, and that the number of enemy attacks had increased along the entire frontline. 

“Russia does not want a ceasefire, and we see it, and we understand what it wants, what are the next steps, where they are gathering their military, where the shelling is increasing, where the attacks and offensives are increasing. For example, we see more than 200 along the entire front line today, and this is definitely an increase. A few days ago... the weather was not very good, so it is clear that there was a decrease,” Zelensky explained.

As Ukrinform reported, according to Pavlo Palisa, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, the Kursk operation was successful and demonstrated the capabilities of the Defense Forces to take offensive actions. For the last counteroffensive, Russia sent all its elite forces there.