Russia recaptures part of Kursk region

Speaking at a press conference in Kyiv, Zelenskyy said “Russians have launched counter-offensive actions.”
He did not provide details on the extent of Russian operations, but said the incursion was still “going in line with our Ukrainian plan”.
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrsky said in late August that Kyiv had seized 100 settlements and almost 1,300 square kilometres of Russian territory.
Kyiv says it does not want to annex parts of Russia – as Moscow has done in eastern Ukraine – but hopes it could force its enemy to divert troops and could be a powerful bargaining chip in any negotiations.
The Russian counter-attack comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken promised Washington would quickly review Kyiv’s long-standing request to give it more leeway to use Western-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia.
“As we go forward, we will do exactly what we have already done, which is, we will adjust, we’ll adapt as necessary, including with regard to the means that are at Ukraine’s disposal to effectively defend against the Russian aggression,” Blinken said Thursday in a press conference in Warsaw.
Washington currently only allows Ukraine to hit Russian targets in the occupied parts of Ukraine and some in Russian border regions directly related to Moscow’s combat operations.
Kyiv wants more flexibility to hit Russian airfields and other military targets further from the front lines that it says are crucial to Moscow’s invasion.
“The delay in this process leads to Russia moving these military targets deeper into Russia,” Zelenskyy said Thursday.
President Joe Biden – who has been hesitant to take actions that risk triggering direct conflict between nuclear-armed Russia and the United States – will review the Ukrainian requests Friday in a White House meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The Kremlin said Wednesday it would respond “appropriately” if the restrictions are lifted.
Speaking in Poland after a trip to Kyiv, Blinken was also set to discuss an appeal by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga for neighbouring countries to help shoot down missiles over its western region.
Russia has upped its air attacks on Ukraine in recent weeks amid the Kursk offensive, including targeting the country’s energy infrastructure ahead of what is set to be another tough winter for Ukraine.
The International Committee of the Red Cross and Zelenskyy said Thursday, that three aid workers were killed by shelling in eastern Ukraine.
Zelenskyy said ICRC vehicles were hit in the Donetsk region, calling it “another Russian war crime.”
“I condemn attacks on Red Cross personnel in the strongest terms. It’s unconscionable that shelling would hit an aid distribution site,” ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric said in a statement, adding that “our hearts are broken today as we mourn the loss of our colleagues and care for the injured”.
The country’s human rights ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said all three were Ukrainian citizens.
Moscow’s forces are also ramping up the pressure on the battlefield in the eastern Donetsk region, where the most intense fighting is taking place.