CNN —Russia has launched a counter-attack in the Kursk border region where Ukrainian forces last month launched a surprise cross-border incursion. Ukraine has been anticipating a Russian reaction and a counteroffensive is in line with the ‘Ukrainian plan,’ Zelensky said. Zelensky has previously said that the surprise attack on Russia’s Kursk region was the initial step in a four-part “victory plan.”The Russian Ministry of Defense said in a statement Thursday that Russian forces had “penetrated” into the Kursk region, capturing 10 settlements. On August 6, Ukrainian forces stormed into the Kursk region in a shock, lightning strike that caught even American officials by surprise. Last week, Zelensky said Ukraine had captured around 100 settlements in the Kursk region, and around 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of territory.

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Persons: Volodymyr Zelensky, ’ Zelensky, Zelensky, Vladimir Putin, –, Bill Burns, Richard Moore, Ukraine’s, Moore, Burns, Cross, Pat Griffith, Dmytro Lubinets, ” Zelensky, “, ” Organizations: CNN, Ukrainian, Russian Ministry of Defense, CIA, Red Cross, International Committee, ICRC, ” ICRC Ukraine Locations: Russia, Kursk, Ukraine, Russia’s Kursk, ”, Russian, Snagost, Moscow, Ukrainian, Donetsk region, Donetsk