Ukraine says it now controls 1,000 sq kms of Russia’s Kursk region

Ukraine’s military chief says his forces now control around a thousand square kilometres of Russian territory – while in his first official comments on the incursion – President Zelenskyy declared he was drawing up a “humanitarian plan” for the area.

Earlier Vladimir Putin vowed he would “kick the enemy out” – after the head of his Kursk region told him that Ukraine currently held some 28 villages, while the governor in neighbouring Belgorod described it as “an alarming morning”.