By Elena Teslova
MOSCOW (AA) – Russia on Tuesday said that the fighting with Ukrainian forces continued in the Kursk region.
According to a Russian Defense Ministry statement, multiple attempts were made by Ukrainian troops to penetrate deeper into Russian territory over the past day, but the Russian forces successfully thwarted these efforts.
The most intense clashes occurred near the settlements of Obschy Kolodez, Kauchuk, and Alexeevsky, and the Russian troops repelled an attack carried out by Ukraine's 82nd Paratrooper Brigade in the direction of Martynovka, the statement said.
More skirmishes took place near the settlements of Mikhaylovka, Nikolayevo-Daryino, Oleshni, Sudzha, Nikolayevka, and Ozerki, it added.
The ministry claimed that Ukrainian forces suffered hundreds of casualties and that several Ukrainian servicemen were captured.
Also, Russian aviation and rocket forces targeted Ukrainian reserves in the Sumy region, specifically in the districts of Miropole, Mogritsa, and Petrushevka, it said.
Meanwhile, authorities in the Russia-controlled city of Lysychansk accused Ukraine of targeting a civilian bus, resulting in one civilian death and 31 injuries.
They alleged that Kyiv used cluster munitions in the attack, leaving 18 people, including a child, with severe injuries.
Separately, Ukraine's commander-in-chief Oleksandr Syrskyi claimed his forces have captured 1,000 square kilometers (386 square miles) of Russia's bordering Kursk region.
“We continue to conduct an offensive operation in the Kursk region. Currently, we control about 1,000 square kilometers of the territory of the Russian Federation,” he said in a video published on Telegram.
On the night of Aug. 5-6, Ukraine intensified shelling of the Russian Kursk region. The artillery barrage was followed by an incursion of Ukrainian infantry, supported by tanks and armored vehicles, near the city of Sudzha.
On Aug.12, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy admitted it was an "operation" by Ukraine's troops without specifying its goals.