The Minister of Defense spoke about the main goals of the Kursk operation

Defense Minister Rustem Umierov announced the purpose of the operation that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are conducting in the Kursk region.

This is stated in the press service of the Ministry of Defense.

During a meeting in Kyiv with a delegation of the House of Representatives of the US Congress, he said that the goal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during operations on the territory of Russia in the border areas is, in particular, to reduce the enemy's ability to attack populated areas of Ukraine.

«Our goals there are to clear the border from Russian military threats and prevent enemy shelling and attacks on our towns and villages,» the minister said.

Rustem Umierov also added that he informed the American partners «about the current situation at the front, in particular in the territories adjacent to Sumy Oblast.»

According to the latest data, the Armed Forces control 93 settlements in the Kursk region on an area of 1,263 square kilometers.

Operation in the Kursk region

The Russian side claims that on August 6, the Ukrainian military tried to break through the border and gain a foothold in the Sudzhanskyi and Korenevskyi districts of the Kursk region.

On August 12, the governor of the region, Oleksii Smirnov, reported to the leader of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, that 28 settlements in the Kursk region «are under the control of the enemy.»

On the evening of August 12, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the operation in the Kursk region. According to him, this was necessary to ensure the security of the border areas from the Russian military.

The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heorhii Tyhyi, said that Ukraine is not interested in taking the territories of the Kursk region of Russia. Currently, Ukraine is protecting its citizens, who are being fired upon by the Russian military from the territory of this region.

We will remind that in the Kursk region, on August 14, special forces of the Security Service of Ukraine captured 102 soldiers of the 488th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Armed Forces of Russia and the special unit «Akhmat». It is noted that this is the largest capture of the enemy, which was carried out at one time.

Also, according to local media reports, six Russian soldiers were captured by the Armed Forces, and the Russian Telegram channel «VChK-OGPU» claims that the Chechen special forces «Akhmat» stationed on the border have left their positions, and 15 soldiers were injured.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that as of August 14, the Defense Forces of Ukraine destroyed the enemy in the city of Suja, Kursk Region of the Russian Federation. More than 100 Russian soldiers have been taken prisoner, the defense operation continues.

On August 15, representatives of Ukraine and the Russian Federation begin negotiations on the exchange of prisoners of war in the Kursk region.