KYIV: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Monday confirmed for the first time that Ukrainian military forces are operating inside Russia’s Kursk region.
Zelenkskyy made the statement in a post on Telegram praising the country’s soldiers and commanders “for their steadfastness and decisive actions.
He did not elaborate further on the military incursion.
He suggested that Ukraine would offer humanitarian assistance in the region, saying that government officials were instructed to prepare a humanitarian plan for the territory.
Earlier, in his nightly address on late Saturday, Zelenskyy had indirectly acknowledged Ukraine’s military incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region by terming it as an attempt to “push the war out into the aggressor’s territory.”
Ukraine’s incursion into Russia continued for a sixth day Sunday. It’s the largest such attack since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on Feb. 24, 2022 and is unprecedented for its use of Ukrainian military units on Russian soil. Ukraine’s raid into Russia caught Moscow unaware and was an embarrassment to Russian military leaders who have scrambled to contain the breach.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Sunday that its forces engaged Ukrainian troops in Tolpino, Zhuravli and Obshchy Kolodez, the official Tass news agency reported. Tolpino is 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
Evacuation of civilians living in Russia’s border areas with Ukraine continued Sunday. Russian state television aired footage of evacuees at a tent camp in the city of Kursk. According to the report by RTR, more than 20 temporary accommodation centers have been set up in the region.
The exact aims of the operation remain unclear, and Ukrainian military officials have adopted a policy of secrecy, presumably to ensure its success. Military experts have said that it is likely intended to draw Russian reserves away from the intense fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, while a presidential adviser suggested that it may strengthen Kyiv’s hand in any future negotiations with Russia.