Ukrainian Military Commander Says There Is No Risk Of Extinction Against His Troops At Kursk

General Oleksandr Syrskyi. (Wikimedia Commons/Vol Nyk)

JAKARTA - The Ukrainian military commander said on Monday that his forces fighting in Russia's Kursk region were not at risk of being surrounded, despite retaliatory attacks by Russian and northern Korean forces recently.

In his first comments since Russia stepped up its attack, General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in his Facebook post the situation was under control, but indicated Ukrainian troops had withdrawn.

"The units took timely action to maneuver into favorable positions for defense," he said.

Jender Syrskyi said he also visited troops fighting on the front lines of Kursk without specifying whether he had crossed into Russian territory.

In recent days, open source maps show Russia penetrating the front lines and etching narrow bulges in a small part of Ukraine's occupied Russian territory last year, in part as a possible bargaining chip in any peace talks in the future.

"A number of settlements on the border, whose names appear in reports by Russian propagandists, are no longer there, these settlements have been destroyed by the shooting by the aggressor," said General Syrskyi.

Ukraine's general staff reported its troops had so far fended off two Russian attacks on the region on Monday.

"Although large numbers of Russian troops were involved in the attack, reinforced by North Korean infantry, the enemy suffered significant losses in terms of manpower and equipment," said General Syrskyi.

He also said Ukrainian troops destroyed Russian reconnaissance and infantry groups trying to break into the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine across the border from Kursk.

Earlier, the Russian Ministry of Defense said on Sunday its troops had reclaimed three more settlements in the Kursk region.