The American CNBC reports that Major General Apti Alaudinov, the commander of the Chechen special forces "Akhmat" in the Kursk region, said that Russian soldiers have put under their control about ten settlements in that region, which borders on northeastern Ukraine.

"The situation here is good and successful, our units went on the offensive. A total of ten settlements in the Kursk area have been liberated," said Alaudinov.

The head of Russian diplomacy, Sergey Lavrov, said today that Ukrainian forces are "constantly being pushed out" of the Kursk region.

"They will be completely expelled from Russian territory, there is no doubt about that," Lavrov told RIA Novosti.

Ukraine has not yet denied Russian claims about the start of the Russian counteroffensive, but Western military analysts, based on geo-located images and visual evidence, have confirmed that Russian troops in the Kursk region have begun operations and currently have a military initiative in the Kursk region.