Gains on Russian soil shape Ukraine independence celebrations

President Volodymyr Zelensky, who attended a number of Independence Day events in the capital, gave a pre-recorded address from the Sumy region – just across the border from the newly gained Russian territory.

“Russia waged war on us. It violated not only sovereign borders, but also the limits of cruelty and common sense,” he told his people.

“It was endlessly seeking one thing: to destroy us. And what the enemy brought to our land has now returned to its home.”

Nearly three weeks into the Kursk incursion, Ukraine has consolidated much of the Russian land it seized rapidly in the surprise operation.

An estimated 10,000 elite Ukrainian troops burst across the border on 6 August, taking more ground in a matter of days than Russia had won in Ukraine so far this year.

Since the operation began, the BBC has kept in touch with one of the Ukrainian fighters now in Russia.

In his latest messages to us, Serhiy – a pseudonym – revealed that the situation was tougher now.

“Russia has gotten stronger. We see this in the number of strikes by drones, artillery, and aviation. Their sabotage and reconnaissance groups began to operate too,” he wrote.

All meant the Ukrainians were taking more casualties, he said.

“At the beginning of the operation, we were on the rise. We had minimal losses. Now, because of the Russians’ firepower, we are losing a lot of guys. Moreover, the Russians here are fighting for their land, just as we are fighting for ours.”

Serhiy says his earlier elation is giving way to some scepticism.

“Many of us do not understand the meaning of this operation. It’s one thing to fight for Kharkiv and Zaporizhzhia. It’s a different matter for the Kursk region, which we don’t need.”

President Zelensky had said the Kursk operation aimed to capture Russian soldiers – which led to a prisoner swap and the release of 115 Ukrainians on Saturday – among other goals he could not disclose.

He had also said the operation was a preventative strike to deter Russian attacks towards Sumy.

Despite the sense of justice and retribution the Kursk incursion has brought, it remains a risky strategy for Kyiv.

The rapid gains must be considered alongside losses in the east of Ukraine, where Russia continues to make ground in a grinding battle.

Moscow’s troops are drawing nearer to the city of Pokrovsk, which was home to around 60,000 before the fighting.

It is the biggest city in the Donetsk region still under Ukrainian control and is an important hub for the defending forces.

“It’s a really difficult situation,” 23-year-old Nazar Voytenkov, a former TV journalist who is now a volunteer with the 33rd Mechanised Brigade defending Pokrovsk, told us on a crackly phone line.

I asked if he was aware of Russians troops being diverted to defend their own soil.

“No, no, I don’t feel that. I think Russians have a big resource of troops in the Kursk region and elsewhere in Russia, and they’re using them in this operation that the Ukrainian forces started.”

I asked if it had relieved any pressure on Ukrainian troops in the area – a key hope of Kyiv’s.

“I don’t feel like it’s become easier. We still have enemies in all directions and just last week, they tried again to approach,” he explained.

“They used approximately 10 armoured vehicles and infantry to capture our positions, but we made a nice defence. We won this battle, and now we wait for their next fight. So no, they’re still here.”