Ukraine's Zelensky says Russian counterattack in Kursk failing

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said Russia's counterattack in its south-western region of Kursk has made little progress.

"They wanted to break through there quickly. [...] We have not seen any serious successes so far," said Zelensky in Kiev.

Zelensky said Moscow intends to deploy up to 70,000 soldiers in the region, which was attacked by Ukraine last month in a surprise offensive. Around 40,000 Russian troops are already in the area.

"Our military is holding up heroically," said Zelensky.

Zelensky said he was satisfied with the results of the operation so far.

"The enemy has been stopped in the Kharkiv region and their advance in the Donetsk region has been slowed down," he said, arguing that Russia had been forced to divert troops from its offensives in northern and eastern Ukraine to defend its territory in Kursk.