President Zelensky Visits Ukrainian Troops On Russian Border Front

President Zelensky received a briefing from the Ukrainian Military Commander Colonel General Syrskyi in Sumy. (Source: President.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday he had traveled to the country's northeastern border area from where Kyiv forces had carried out massive cross-border attacks on Russia's Kursk territory, praising the seizure of another Russian village.

The Ukrainian leader said he met with Ukrainian Military Commander Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi during a visit to the Sumy region more than two weeks since Ukraine outwitted Russia by breaking through the border with thousands of troops.

"In certain areas in the Kursk region under Ukrainian control, there is one more settlement, and we have additional exchange funds," he said, referring to the arrest of Russian soldiers who could be exchanged for prisoners of the Ukrainian war detained by Moscow.

President Zelensky published a video showing himself taking Syrskyi's hands and hugging him. Operations in the Kursk region have provided a major morale boost for the Ukrainian military, after months of slow but surely gaining victory in the eastern region.

Ukraine has been closely guarding its main objectives in the Kursk region, but says it has formed a buffer zone from the region Russia has used to attack targets in Ukraine with cross-border attacks.

In a statement accompanying the video, President Zelensky wrote there had been a decline in shootings and civilian casualties in the Sumy region since the Kursk operation.

President Zelensky also said Colonel General Syrskyi had briefed him on the steps taken by Ukraine to strengthen its defenses on the east front lines near the settlements of Toretsk and Pokrovsk, where Moscow forces had concentrated their attacks for months.

Separately, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Moscow would provide a "proper response" to the attack, which he described as a major provocation.