Ukraine sent troops and armoured vehicles into the Kursk region on August 6, claiming they had captured several dozen villages in the most serious cross-border attack on Russian soil since World War II.

Zelensky said on social media after meeting military commanders that the army had "reported on the completion of the liberation of the town of Sudzha from the Russian military".

Earlier, The Ukrainian army has set up an administrative office in Russia's Kursk region, Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr Syrsky.

"A military commandant's office has been set up to maintain law and order and meet the priority needs of the population in the controlled territories," Syrsky told President Volodymyr Zelensky in a meeting.

Ukraine's top military chief also claimed that Ukrainian troops have taken control of dozens of villages and over a thousand square kilometres of territory in Russia's Kursk region.

"In total, since the start of operations in the Kursk region, our troops have advanced 35 kilometres deep," Syrsky said.

"We have taken control of 1,150 square kilometres of territory and 82 settlements," he added.

Emergency in Belgorod 

The Russian army has prepared "concrete actions" to defend the Belgorod region from Ukrainian attacks, minister Andrei Belousov said at a meeting with officials including Belgorod region governor Vyacheslav Gladkov. They include "the allocation of additional forces".

Gladkov declared a state of emergency in the Belgorod region on Wednesday, saying the situation there was "extremely difficult" due to Ukrainian shelling and drone attacks.

Ukrainian drone attacks on multiple villages in the region as well as the town of Shebekino wounded at least six people on Thursday, Gladkov said on Telegram.