Ukraine still holds positions in Russia's Kursk Oblast

Oleksandr Shumilin - 28 September, 13:22

Dmytro Voloshyn. Photo: Command of the Airborne Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Ukrainian soldiers continue to hold positions in Russia's Kursk Oblast in the area near the settlement of Novy Put, controlling several forest areas.

Source: General Dmytro Voloshyn, Commander of the 8th Air Assault Corps, in an interview with BBC News Ukraine

Quote: "Yes, there are still [Ukrainian military positions in Kursk Oblast – ed.]. I can even specify where exactly. The area of the village of Novy Put, for example, where we control the entire forest area around it. We also control the area around the settlement of Politotdelsky and the adjacent forest area.

Yes, these are small, separate pockets in Kursk Oblast, but they are still there."

Graphics by the BBC

Details: Voloshyn explained that a year ago, the Russians were "more aggressive" and sought to dislodge these positions. "But after losing a large number of personnel there, they abandoned this objective," he said.

Quote: "Of course, we did not advance further either, because we have our own problems that need to be addressed. From a military point of view, they probably did the right thing: why fight over a couple of kilometres of their own territory that essentially change nothing when they can attempt to expand their zone of control on our territory?

The Russians are trying to create a 'buffer zone' here, looking for weak points, but without success. Their main objective, of course, is the city of Sumy."

Background:

Voloshyn was on the front lines of the offensive in Russia's Kursk Oblast in 2024, leading the 82nd Separate Air Assault Brigade.
Combat operations in Kursk Oblast began on the morning of 6 August 2024, when Ukrainian forces crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border near the town of Sudzha.
In September 2024, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy summed up the results of the first month of the operation, stating that Ukrainian forces controlled 1,300 sq km in Kursk Oblast, an area that encompassed over 100 settlements.
In May 2025, the then commander-in-chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, stated that the Kursk operation had achieved most of its objectives.
At the time, the Ukrainian General Staff stated that claims by high-ranking Russian military commanders that the hostilities in Russia's Kursk Oblast were over were untrue.
In March 2025, Zelenskyy asserted that Ukraine's defence forces had achieved the principal objective of the Kursk operation, which was to draw Russian soldiers away from the cities of Pokrovsk and Sumy and the Kharkiv front.

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