Ukrainian forces disperse Russian troops on Kursk front — Ukrainian colonel

He said this on Espreso TV.

"In some areas near Kursk, we are holding the line and stopping the enemy from entering our territory. In others, we’re counterattacking. All actions in Tyotkino and the Belgorod region aim to seize the initiative in directions where there’s no fighting yet. The goal is to force the Russians to spread out their troops so they can’t gather them all in one place and push us back. This should block the occupiers from continuing their offensive in the Sumy region," the colonel said.

According to him, the key task of Ukrainian forces is to stretch Russian operations and stop them from moving reserves.

"Russian troops have a few options. We see they’re trying to form pincers to break into the Sumy region. If they see it’s not working, they’ll go defensive along the border. Then the units they free up could be sent to the Pokrovsk, Toretsk, or Kostyantynivka directions. We can’t let that happen, so our command is spreading their forces thin by making them react across the whole front. That’s the goal of what’s happening now," Roman Kostenko explained.

• The Defense Forces' operation in the Kursk region has already achieved most of its objectives, mainly by preventing a Russian offensive in the Sumy and Kharkiv regions.