MOSCOW/KIEV, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- Ukraine hit four Russian military airfields Wednesday overnight in its "largest long-range drone strike" during the conflict as it furthered its offensive into Russia's Kursk region, media reported.

According to a statement from the Ukrainian General Staff on Telegram, the primary objectives of the drone attack in Russia's Voronezh, Kursk, and Nizhniy Novgorod regions were the fuel warehouses and aviation weapons.

"We continue to advance further in Kursk," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on Telegram, "from one to two kilometers in various areas since the start of the day."

Foreign media reported that approximately 12,000 Ukrainian soldiers have entered Russia's Kursk region, establishing a strategic buffer zone in the border areas.

Zelensky said a military commandant's office will be established "if needed" in the occupied area that Ukraine claims exceeds 1,000 square kilometers.

Russian President Vladimir Putin had earlier characterized the Ukrainian offensive in Kursk as a "large-scale provocation" and accused Ukraine of indiscriminately targeting civilian areas. He stated that Ukraine would face a "proper response" for its actions.

Russia's defense ministry announced that in the past 24 hours, their forces successfully repelled six Ukrainian attacks in the Kursk region. Additionally, it claimed to have destroyed 117 drones and four tactical missiles launched by Ukraine at several regions including Kursk. Also, the ministry added that Ukraine had lost up to 2,300 soldiers and 37 tanks during its incursion into Kursk.

In response to the conflict, Russia's National Guard said it has increased security measures at the Kursk nuclear power plant, which is located only 35 kilometers away from the conflict zone. ■