Ukraine claims to have captured more than 590 Russian soldiers during incursion into Kursk
The claims relate to a surprise incursion into Russian territory, launched by Ukraine on August 6, ITV News' Chloe Keedy reports
The chief of Ukraine's army has said forces now control nearly 1,300 square kilometres of Russia's Kursk region and have captured 594 Russian prisoners of war.
The claims, made by General Oleksandr Syrskyi, cannot yet be independently verified. They relate to a surprise incursion into Russian territory, launched by Ukraine on August 6.
Meanwhile, a barrage of Russian missile and drone attacks have killed at least five people in Ukraine overnight, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.
Cruise and ballistic missiles and 81 drones were used in the strikes which also left 16 people injured.
Two of those who died were killed in a strike on a residential building in the industrial city of Kryvyi Rih, according to the head of the city's military administration.
Another died from burn injuries sustained during strikes in Zaporizhzhia, according to the region's governor.
“We will undoubtedly respond to Russia for this and all other attacks. Crimes against humanity cannot go unpunished.” Zelenskyy wrote on X.
Five air alerts were called in the Kyiv region, which had struggled with electricity blackouts after a Russian barrage on energy facilities throughout the country on Monday.
The regional administration said air defences destroyed all the drones and missiles but that falling debris set off forest fires.
After Monday's attack, which involved more than 100 missiles, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said: "The energy infrastructure has once again become the target of Russian terrorists."
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He urged Ukraine’s allies to provide the country with long-range weapons along with permission to use them on targets inside Russia.
President Joe Biden called Monday's Russian attack on energy infrastructure “outrageous” and said he had “reprioritised US air defence exports so they are sent to Ukraine first.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said the attacks used “long-range precision air and sea-based weapons and strike drones against critical energy infrastructure facilities that support the operation of Ukraine’s military-industrial complex. All designated targets were hit.”
In Russia, authorities reported four Ukrainian missiles were shot down over the Kursk region, where Russian forces are fighting Ukrainian troops that made a surprise incursion this month.
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