Strengthening positions in western Russia, says Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday his forces were "strengthening" their positions in Russia's Kursk region, where Kyiv has been mounting a major ground offensive for more than 11 days. His comments came a day after Moscow accused Ukraine of destroying a key bridge over a river in the border region, as Kyiv seeks to disrupt supply routes and the movement of Moscow's troops in the area.

Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrsky "reported on the strengthening of the positions of our forces in the Kursk region and the expansion of stabilised territory", Zelenskyy said in a post on Telegram. "As of this morning, we have replenished the exchange fund for our country," Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian soldiers Ukraine has captured to be used in future prisoner swaps. Kyiv claims to have taken control of more than 80 settlements in the lightning incursion that caught Moscow off guard.

The Russian defence ministry said on Saturday it had pushed back Ukrainian forces near three settlements in the Kursk region, and was searching for "mobile enemy groups" trying to pierce deeper into the country.

According to open-source battlefield maps, Russian troops are closing in on the strategic eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk, casting doubts on Ukraine's hopes that its new offensive into western Russia will prompt Moscow to scale back its attacks elsewhere on the battlefield.

After capturing several villages in the area and pushing along a railway line, Russian forces are now about 8 miles from Pokrovsk, one of Ukraine's main defensive strongholds in the Donetsk region, according to the maps, which are based on combat footage and satellite images. The capture of the city would bring Russia a step closer to its long-held goal of seizing the entire Donetsk region, much of which it already controls. Pokrovsk, a city with a prewar population of about 60,000, sits on a key road linking several cities that form a defensive arc protecting the part of Donetsk that is still held by Ukraine.

The situation is so dire that the city's military administration has urged residents to leave, although it has not issued a formal order. "The enemy is rapidly approaching the outskirts of Pokrovsk," Serhii Dobriak, the head of the military administration, said Thursday. "Evacuation is underway in the community. Don't delay!"