Ukraine strengthens positions in Russia's Kursk region, Zelenskiy says

KYIV (Reuters) -Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy 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 (444 square miles) in Kursk since Aug. 6 in the biggest invasion of Russia since World War Two.

Zelenskiy 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.

Zelenskiy 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," Zelenskiy 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.

Russia has called the incursion a major provocation and vowed to retaliate with a "worthy response," more than 2-1/2 years since it launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Moscow says Ukraine has been using Western arms, including probably U.S.-made HIMARS rockets to destroy a bridge and kill volunteers trying to evacuate civilians.

Zelenskiy 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.

(Reporting by Olena HarmashEditing by Andrew Cawthorne and Frances Kerry)