A map that a Ukrainian soldier captured from a Russian soldier amid the fighting in Kursk helps tell the story. The day before the first Ukrainian troops breached the border, the Russian garrison in Kursk had 18 BM-21 rocket launchers, 98 pieces of tube artillery and 71 mortars.

Documents seized by Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast and shared with The Guardian highlight disarray among Russian troops, revealing months of defensive preparations and concerns over soldier morale.

Russia's counterattack in Kursk Oblast aiming to retake Ukrainian-held territory has been stopped, a spokesperson of the Ukrainian military administration in the region told AFP on Sept. 18. The statement comes a week after Moscow launched a counteroffensive against the western flank of Ukrainian troops in the Russian region.

Kyiv has stated clearly that while Ukraine aims to retain Russian territory under its control for now, it has no long-term ambition to hold or occupy it. But for as long as it does so, Ukraine holds a trump card when it comes to any eventual ceasefire negotiations with Russia.

"The local population doesn't understand why they are being hit (by Russian forces) because the (Ukrainian) military is not even nearby," Vadym Mysnyk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian military's Operational Tactical Group Siversk,

Vadim Mysnyk, spokesperson for the "Siewiersk" group, announced that Ukrainian forces are providing essential supplies to residents of the Kursk region in Russia, which is currently under their control.