Newsman: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged for the first time that Kyiv’s troops are fighting inside Russia, days into the surprise Ukrainian cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk region
Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation on Saturday, thanking “every unit” of Ukraine’s armed forces for making it possible “to push the war out into the aggressor’s territory.”
“Ukraine is proving that it really knows how to restore justice and guarantees exactly the kind of pressure that is needed – pressure on the aggressor,”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenksyy said that his military forces are conducting an offensive in Russia’s western Kursk region, with local Russian officials calling for evacuations in an assault.
“Ukraine is proving that it is really able to bring justice and guarantees exactly the kind of pressure that is needed — pressure on the aggressor,” Zelenskyy said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the rare Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory “a major provocation.”
Moscow has rushed reinforcement troops and military equipment to regions bordering Ukraine where Kyiv’s forces have staged a surprise incursion.
The Russian government also implemented emergency security measures in the regions — Bryansk, Belgorod and Kursk.
Russian tanks have taken up firing positions against Ukrainian mobile armored groups in the Kursk region, the Russian Defense Ministry said, according to a Tass report. The additional military supplies also include rocket launchers and aviation units, according to reports.
“The Kyiv regime made an unprecedented attempt to destabilize the situation in a number of regions of our country,” Russia’s National Antiterrorism Committee said in a statement justifying the operation “to ensure the safety of citizens and stop the threat of terrorist acts.”
“The armed forces continue to repel the attempted invasion by the Ukrainian armed forces,” Russia’s defense ministry said on Saturday, according to a Reuters report. Intense battles were focused around Malaya Loknya, Olgovka and Ivashkovskoye, it said.
The U.S. on Friday announced an additional $125 million (€114 million) in weapons to assist Ukraine’s military operations against Russia, including anti-tank missiles and ammunition.
The unprecedented assault began on Tuesday, when up to 1,000 troops entered the Kursk region, according to Russian reports.
In a post on X, Zelenskyy said according to “preliminary information,” the Russians had used a North Korean missile in the attack.
Mykola Oleshchuk, commander of Ukraine’s air force, said on Telegram that Russia had used four North Korean missiles as part of an overnight attack.
In June, U.S. and South Korean officials accused the North of providing Russia with missiles and other military equipment to help its war in Ukraine. Both Pyongyang and Moscow have denied the existence of an arms deal, which would be in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions.
Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko warned civilians early on Sunday to stay in shelters.
“Air defense units operating, air raid alert continues,” he wrote on Telegram.
More than 76,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk region, the local emergency ministry said Saturday, according to state news agency TASS, as Russian federal authorities declared a state of national emergency amid reports of civilian casualties.
On Saturday, Russia imposed a sweeping security regime in three border regions, giving security services powers to restrict the movement of people and vehicles, and use phone-tapping among other measures.
The security measures are intended “to ensure the safety of citizens and suppress the threat of terrorist acts by enemy sabotage and reconnaissance units,” according to the National Counter-Terrorism Committee.
Belarus, a staunch ally of Russia, has also sent more troops to its border with Ukraine and said Saturday that Ukrainian drones had violated its airspace.
