Ukraine's forces advanced further into Russia's Kursk region on Wednesday as Kyiv said its gains would provide a strategic buffer zone to protect its border areas from Russian attacks.
Kyiv's surge into Russian territory last week caught Moscow by surprise. Russian forces that began a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had been grinding out steady gains all year.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he met top officials to discuss the humanitarian situation and establishing a military commandant's office "if needed” in an occupied area that Kyiv says exceeds 1,000 square kilometers.