The Russian Defense Ministry claimed on Sept. 12 that Russian soldiers had regained control of 10 settlements earlier captured by Ukraine in Kursk Oblast.
The statement follows reports claiming that Moscow had launched a counterattack in the embattled Russian region, which has been partially held by Ukrainian forces since the start of the cross-border incursion on Aug. 6.
President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed these claims on Sept. 12.
"Everything is going according to our plan," he said at a press conference with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda.
Snagost, one of the villages allegedly recaptured by Russia, lies around 30 kilometers (20 miles) west of the Ukrainian-held Russian town of Sudzha and around 10 kilometers (6 miles) north of the Ukrainian border.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the Russian Defense Ministry's claims.
The Ukrainian crowd-sourced monitoring group DeepState wrote on Sept. 11 that the "situation on the left (western) flank of Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast has worsened."
"Russians began active assault operations, ferrying armored vehicles across the Seim River and other smaller rivers." Ukraine was previously targeting bridges and pontoon crossings across the Seim River in an apparent attempt to cut off Russian troops in the Glushkovsky district.
Zelensky said on Sept. 6 that Ukraine controls over 1,300 square kilometers and around 100 settlements in Kursk Oblast. According to Kyiv, the incursion was meant to divert Russian forces from Donbas and to prevent further Russian cross-border attacks from Kursk Oblast.
Samuel Charap
