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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly acknowledged for the first time that his troops are active in Russia's Belgorod region.

Russia's military had last month reported Ukrainian attempts to cross over into the Belgorod region - but said such attacks had been rebuffed.

In his video address late on Monday, Zelensky said he had been briefed by his top commander Gen Oleksandr Syrskyi about the situation on the front, "including our presence in the Kursk and Belgorod regions".

Zelensky thanked several army units defending Ukraine, including the 225th Assault Regiment deployed in the Belgorod region.

It is his first explicit acknowledgement of Ukrainian troops in Belgorod.