In a bid to cement control of the area, Ukraine's top general announced Thursday his forces had established the first military commandant's office in the Kursk region of Russia.
"On the territory of the Kursk region, the search and elimination of the enemy in Sudzha and three other settlements has been completed," Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a report to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
He added, "A military commandant was created to maintain law and order and ensure the priority needs of the population in the controlled territories."
Syrskyi said that he had appointed Maj. Gen. Eduard Moskaliov to head the military office. Moskaliov was commanding officer of Ukraine's Joint forces Operation from 2022-23, then commander of the Odesa Operational and Strategic Group of Forces.
Syrskyi noted that Defense Forces are still carrying out "offensive actions" in Kursk, and said his troops have taken control of around 1,150 square kilometers (about 715 square miles), capturing 82 settlements in the process.
Earlier Thursday, Zelenskyy announced that Ukrainian forces had taken control of Sudzha, a town of about 5,000 people that holds a measuring station for Russian natural gas that flows through Ukrainian pipelines to Europe. It's the largest town that Ukraine has reportedly seized since its surprise invasion of the territory last week.
Ukraine's Aug. 6 incursion marks the first time since World War II that foreign troops have invaded Russian land.