Ukraine's "provocation" in Russia's Kursk region has failed to stop the Russian military from advancing in the Donetsk region, Russian media reported on Monday, citing statements from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Putin, on a trip to Russia's Tuva region, said Russian forces were reclaiming territory in the Kursk region "by square kilometers" and are seeing advances at a "rate that we did not have for a long time."

Kyiv, which launched the surprise incursion into Russia on August 6, has stated that one of its aims was to stretch the Russian army and compel it to withdraw reserves from eastern Ukraine.

"We have to of course deal with these bandits that entered the territory of the Russian Federation, specifically the Kursk region, attempting to destabilize the situation in the border areas," Putin said.