MOSCOW, August 27. /TASS/. The commander-in-chief of Ukraine’s armed forces, Alexander Syrsky, has admitted that by attacking the Kursk Region Kiev pursued the aim of distracting significant Russian forces from the Krasnoarmeisk (Pokrovsk) direction, but to little avail, if at all.

"One of the tasks of the offensive operation in the Kursk direction was precisely to divert significant enemy forces from other areas, primarily from Pokrovsk and Kurakhovo," he told a news press conference streamed on the Rada TV channel.

However, he confessed that Russia unraveled these plans and "continues to focus its main efforts on Pokrovsk." Syrsky described the state of affairs in that area as "quite difficult" for the Ukrainian military and stated that the command was trying to do "everything possible to stabilize the situation."

A few hours earlier, Verkhovna Rada member Aleksey Goncharenko (blacklisted as a terrorist and extremist in Russia) said that the situation for the Ukrainian army near Krasnoarmeisk was close to disaster. He remarked angrily he did not understand what Syrsky's plan was.

Ukraine’s massive attack on the Kursk Region began on August 6. A federal-scale state of emergency is in effect there and missile alerts have been announced repeatedly. Civilians are being evacuated from border areas to safety. According to the Emergencies Ministry, there are 197 temporary accommodation centers in 28 regions of Russia. More than 11,500 people, including more than 3,500 children, are staying in them at the moment.

The Russian Defense Ministry says Kiev has lost more than 6,600 military personnel and 73 tanks since the beginning of hostilities in the Kursk Region. The operation to wipe out the Ukrainian incursion is continuing. Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that Ukraine will "certainly receive a worthy response" for the attack on Kursk Region, and all the goals Russia has set for itself will be achieved.