As a map of the battlefield shows, Russian forces have recaptured parts of Moscow following Ukraine’s full-scale invasion of the Kursk Formation, more than three weeks after the offensive began.

A war map released on Thursday by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US-based think tank, shows positions claimed by Ukraine in Kursk – which borders Ukraine’s Sumy region – 23 days after its forces launched the tank attack.

While Kyiv forces recently made minor advances north of the town of Sudzha in the Kursk region, Russian troops have likely recaptured the settlements of Ulanok (southeast of Sudzha) and East Korenevo, the ISW said in its latest update.

Newsweek The Russian Defense Ministry asked for comment via email.

Kyiv launched its lightning offensive on August 6 and was quickly reported to have captured more territory in the Kursk region than Russia had captured in Ukraine since the beginning of the year.

Kyiv’s armed forces took control of at least 1,250 square kilometers (482 square miles) of Russian territory and 92 settlements, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on August 19 about the course of the Kursk invasion.

According to RBC Ukraine, Putin has ordered his forces to push Ukrainian troops out of Kursk by October 1. More than 130,000 residents have reportedly been evacuated from the region.

On Thursday, Alexei Smirnov, acting head of the region, announced on his Telegram channel that a new armed volunteer unit called “BARS-Kursk” would be formed to “ensure security” in the region.

After military training, the department will “become an important link in maintaining peace and order in the Kursk region” and will work closely with the Russian army.

“The department’s tasks include not only ensuring security, but also participating in the life support of the resettled areas in order to support the population remaining there in this difficult time,” said Smirnov.

According to ISW, the creation of the defense unit shows Putin’s “unwillingness to respond more seriously to the invasion, whether through mobilization because of the threat of social discontent or through large-scale troop movements because of possible disruptions to the ongoing Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine.”

“The formation of these new BARS (Russian Army Combat Reserve) detachments is consistent with the Kremlin’s apparent strategy to avoid transferring experienced or combat-ready units fighting in the Pokrovsk or Toretsk directions to Kursk Oblast, fearing a slowdown in the pace of Russian offensive operations in these higher priority directions,” the think tank added.

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