By V.E.K.Madhushani, Jadetimes News
"Ukrainian President Acknowledges Cross-Border Operations Amid Ongoing Conflict"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has publicly confirmed for the first time that his military is conducting a cross border offensive within Russia's western Kursk region. In a video address on Saturday night, Zelensky stated that Ukraine's military is actively pushing the conflict onto "the aggressor's territory."
The offensive, which began on Tuesday, has seen Ukrainian forces advance more than 10 kilometers (six miles) into Russian territory the deepest incursion since Moscow launched its full scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Meanwhile, in Ukraine, the capital Kyiv and several other regions came under Russian drone and missile attacks early Sunday morning, according to local officials.
In his address, President Zelensky expressed his gratitude to Ukraine's "warriors" and mentioned that he had discussed the operation in Russia with the country's top military commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi. "Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and apply the necessary pressure on the aggressor," he added.
As the fighting continues, Russia has struggled to halt the Ukrainian advance. Over 76,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk region, and a "counter terror" regime has been imposed across three border areas: Kursk, Belgorod, and Bryansk. This regime allows authorities to restrict the movement of people and vehicles, conduct phone tapping, and implement other security measures.
The fighting appeared to be ongoing as of Saturday night, with Kursk Governor Aleksei Smirnov reporting injuries from a "treacherous" Ukrainian attack. Earlier, he mentioned that 13 people were injured late Saturday when debris from a downed Ukrainian missile struck a multi story building in the regional capital, Kursk.
Governors of Russia's neighboring Voronezh and Belgorod regions also reported overnight Ukrainian drone attacks, though no injuries were mentioned.
In Ukraine, a 35 year old man and his four year old son were killed in the Kyiv region when a rocket fragment hit residential houses, emergency services reported Sunday. Three others, including a 13 year old child, were wounded. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko warned civilians to stay in shelters as air defense units were active early Sunday morning.
Ukraine's incursion into Russia began on Tuesday morning when up to 1,000 troops, supported by tanks and armored vehicles, entered the Kursk region, according to Russian reports. The Ukrainians have reportedly seized several villages and are threatening the regional town of Sudzha.
A video that surfaced on Friday showed armed Ukrainian soldiers claiming control over Sudzha and a key Russian gas facility owned by Gazprom. The footage was verified as being from the Gazprom facility on the northwestern outskirts of Sudzha, about 7 kilometers from the Ukrainian border, though the claim of control over the entire town remains unverified. Russian military bloggers had earlier claimed that the town was still under Moscow's control.
Another video, confirmed by independent sources, showed a 15 vehicle Russian convoy damaged, burned, and abandoned on a road through the town of Oktyabrskoe, roughly 38 kilometers from the border on the Russian side. The footage also showed Russian soldiers, some injured and some possibly dead, among the vehicles.
In response to the incursion, Moscow has sent reinforcements including tanks and rocket launcher systems to the Kursk region, asserting that Russian troops are "continuing to repel the attempted invasion" by Ukrainian forces. This claim, however, has not been independently verified.
On Friday, the United Nations nuclear agency urged both Russia and Ukraine to "exercise maximum restraint" as the fighting approaches the Kursk nuclear power plant one of Russia's largest nuclear facilities. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi emphasized the need for measures to prevent a nuclear accident with potentially serious radiological consequences. The plant is located about 60 kilometers northeast of Sudzha.
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