ISTANBUL Russia said on Friday that it continues its efforts to create a “security zone” in the border areas of Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region, as it reiterated claims of pushing Kyiv out of its border region of Kursk late last month. In a statement on the progress of military actions in Ukraine over the past week, the Defense Ministry reaffirmed its claim of pushing Ukrainian troops out of Kursk, where Kyiv had launched an incursion last August. The ministry said Russia re-captured the