UPDATE - Zelenskyy claims Ukrainian forces took control of town in Russia’s Kursk region

ADDS BACKGROUND

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday claimed that his country’s forces have taken control of the town of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv launched an incursion last week.

In a video statement following a staff meeting, Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi reported on the "completion of the liberation of the town of Sudzha."

He said that a Ukrainian military commandant's office is being established in the town, adding that several other settlements have also been captured by the Ukrainian army.

Zelenskyy further claimed that Ukraine has captured more than 80 settlements in the region since the start of the incursion.

Russian authorities have not yet commented on the claims, and independent verification of Kyiv's claims is difficult due to the ongoing war.

Sudzha, located about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the Ukrainian border, houses Europe's sole transmission station for Russian natural gas supplies. A Ukrainian lawmaker claimed the facility was captured last week.

The transit line, which passes through Ukraine, remains the only route to supply Russian gas to western and central European countries, with energy giant Gazprom no longer supplying gas through Yamal-Europe and the Nord Stream pipelines.

Approximately 15 billion cubic meters of natural gas was delivered to Europe from the Sudzha point last year.

Last week, intensified shelling in Kursk was followed by an incursion of Ukrainian infantry, supported by tanks and armored vehicles, into the border region, particularly near Sudzha.

Earlier this week, authorities in Kursk said that 28 settlements in the region were under the control of Ukraine, and 12 people were killed and 121 injured since the incursion into the border region adjacent to Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region. Kyiv previously claimed that it took control of 74 settlements.

Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Kyiv of carrying out “large-scale provocation” and “indiscriminate shooting,” while Zelenskyy admitted it was an "operation" by Ukraine's troops.