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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reported that the country's armed forces have gained hundreds of square miles of Russian territory since their initial surprise attack earlier this week, and it could gain even more territory in the coming days.
Currently, Russia maintains control over a large section of eastern Ukraine, including the regions of Crimea, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia, and Kherson. Crimea was originally annexed in 2014, but the last four have been taken over in the last two years after the war began in February 2022. Ukrainian counteroffensives are taking place throughout the eastern portion of the country, but dating back to World War II, no army had gone across the Russian border-- until now.
Due to a large number of Russian forces attacking the Ukrainian area of Sumy, located in northeastern Ukraine next to Kharkiv, where heavy fighting is taking place, Ukraine was forced to retaliate. They launched an unexpected cross-border attack into the Russian region of Kursk, which borders Sumy, which completely surprised Russia. In just a couple of days, Ukrainian forces had taken over approximately 386 square miles of area, including 74 different settlements, in Kursk, and they are now approaching the neighboring region of Belgorod. This has also weakened the strength of Russia's attacks in other areas, such as Kharkiv, as the Russian army is being forced to pull soldiers and equipment from their primary offensives.
Citizens across Kursk have been forced to evacuate, and people living in western Belgorod are now also being advised to evacuate as Ukrainian forces approach the area. Attacks also took place in the neighboring Russian regions of Bryansk to the west and Voronezh to the northeast, further increasing the total strength of the offensive.
This is being considered as a major embarrassment for the Kremlin, as their offensive into Ukraine is having to be halted because Ukraine has invaded their own territory. Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised to "kick the enemy out," but despite the numerous troops that have been relocated to counter the attacks, the Ukrainian forces continue to gain territory.
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