Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday his troops had strengthened positions in Russia's Kursk region nearly two weeks into their incursion and called for bold decisions by Kyiv's allies to allow long-range strikes.
Ukraine says it has seized more than 80 settlements over 1,150 square km in Kursk since 6 August in the biggest invasion of Russia since World War Two.
Mr Zelensky said his army chief Oleksander Syrskyi had reported that Ukrainian troops continued their advance and also took more Russian servicemen as prisoners.
He said that the operation in the Kursk region was going according to plan and Ukrainian troops continued to advance and strengthen their positions.
Mr Zelensky renewed his calls for Ukraine's Western allies to allow long-range strikes on Russia.
"The long-range capability for our forces is the answer to all most important, most strategic questions of this war," Mr Zelensky said in his daily video address to the nation.
"We will strengthen our diplomatic work. We will insist that bold steps and bold decisions are needed."
Western governments providing military aid to Ukraine after Russia's invasion in February 2022 have so far refused to allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons because of the perceived risk of escalation in the conflict.
The Ukrainian military said in its daily report that troops were successfully advancing further in Kursk, without offering more details. It had previously reported 35 km of advances.
Reuters could not independently verify the battlefield developments.
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Russia has called the incursion a major provocation and vowed to retaliate with a "worthy response,".
Moscow says Ukraine has been using Western arms, including probably US-made HIMARS rockets to destroy a bridge and kill volunteers trying to evacuate civilians.
President Zelensky also said that Ukrainian troops had repelled dozens of Russian attacks near Pokrovsk and Toretsk in Ukraine's Donetsk region.
The military said 51 Russian attacks were stopped near Pokrovsk, a major logistics hub in the eastern region, and another 13 near the town of Toretsk in the last 24 hours.
Safety 'deteriorating' at Ukraine nuclear plant: UN watchdog
The UN's nuclear watchdog warned on Saturday that the safety situation at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was "deteriorating" following a nearby drone strike.
Earlier on Saturday, Russia accused Ukraine of dropping an explosive charge on a road near the occupied plant in southern Ukraine.
The plant, which was seized by Russia's forces early in the war, has come under repeated attacks that both sides have accused each other of carrying out.
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts on site were informed of the detonation near essential plant facilities on Saturday and immediately visited the area, the agency said in a statement.
They reported that the damage "seemed to have been caused by a drone equipped with an explosive payload," impacting the road between the plant's two main gates.
"Yet again we see an escalation of the nuclear safety and security dangers facing the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," IAEA head Rafael Grossi said in the statement.
"I remain extremely concerned and reiterate my call for maximum restraint from all sides," he said.
The "nuclear safety situation" at the plant was "deteriorating," the statement added.
The IAEA team on site reported "intense" military activity over the past week in the area, including very close to the plant, it added.
"The team has heard frequent explosions, repetitive heavy machine gun and rifle fire and artillery at various distances from the plant," it said.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the IAEA has repeatedly urged restraint, saying it fears reckless military action could trigger a major nuclear accident at the plant.
Kyiv and Moscow traded blame last weekend after a fire broke out at a cooling tower at the plant.
IAEA experts were able to visit the base of the cooling tower but have requested further access to assess the situation, according to the Vienna-based IAEA.
The fire resulted in "considerable damage", but there was no immediate threat to nuclear safety, the agency said.
