Russian forces advancing so fast families are under orders to leave nearby towns and villages
Belarus claimed on Monday to have sent more troops, aircraft and armoury to its border with Ukraine.
The update comes a day after President Alexander Lukashenko said he deployed almost a third of his country’s armed forces to the region – a statement Ukraine said was false.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Ukraine’s invasion of Russia’s Kursk region shows Kremlin threats of retaliation are a bluff as he urged Kyiv’s allies to loosen curbs on using their weapons against targets on Russian territory. Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces had gained control of more than 1,250 sq km (483 sq miles) and 92 settlements in Kursk.
Speaking to Ukrainian diplomats, the president said the “naive, illusory concept of so-called red lines” had “crumbled apart”. But restrictions imposed by allies remain, and Zelenskiy urged allies to be bolder in helping Ukraine. “The world sees that everything in this war depends only on courage – our courage, the courage of our partners. On brave decisions for Ukraine, on courage in supporting Ukraine.”
Ukraine has destroyed a third bridge over the Seym River in Kursk, Dan Sabbagh writes, as part of an apparent attempt to expand what Zelenskiy has described as a military “buffer zone” inside Russia.
