The Ukraine military’s stunning offensive into Russia’s Kursk region will create a “buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory” to discourage Russian attacks into Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday.
Earlier, Zelenskyy said Ukrainian forces were reinforcing its positions in Kursk and that “the foothold of our presence is getting stronger.”
Zelenskyy also lauded his invading fighters for capturing Russian troops, saying the effort “replenishes our exchange fund” and will hasten the release of Ukrainian troops and civilians held by the Russians.
“It is now our primary task … to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and conduct maximum counteroffensive actions,” Zelenskyy said.
Ukraine forces appeared determined to repel any Russian effort to retake the seized land, estimated at almost 400 square miles, it has held for almost two weeks. The commander of Ukraine’s air force says a second bridge in the region was badly damaged as Kyiv tries to weaken Russia’s combat operations. “Minus one more bridge.” Air Force Commander Mykola Oleschuk wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine raid:Why is Russia’s response sluggish?
Developments:
∎ Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly downplayed the incursion, refering to it as a “situation” and accusing the U.S. and the West of planning it. U.S. officials have said they had no prior knowledge of Ukraine’s offensive.
∎ Two women were wounded as a result of Ukraine’s drone attacks on Russia’s border Belgorod Region, local Goc. Vyacheslav Gladkov said.
Russia to Kursk evacuees: Don’t go home yet
Residents of Kursk’s Korenevo District, who fled the fighting when Ukraine forces overran the region, cannot return to their homes, the district’s top officials said Sunday. Marina Degtyareva said the situation there remains “very difficult,” “People who persist in returning home pose problems for the Russian military and that some attempts “lead to awful tragedies.” Residents will be notified when it is safe, she said in a social media post.
The incursion, which Russian authorities say has led to the evacuation of more than 120,000 civilians, came as a shock to many people living in the Kursk region along the Ukraine border.
“No one expected that this kind of conflict was even possible in the Kursk region,” Yan Furtsev, a member of the local opposition party, Yabloko, told Euronews. “That is why there is such confusion and panic, because citizens are arriving (from front-line areas) and they’re scared, very scared.”
Russian missiles target Kyiv
Russia carried out its third ballistic missile attack on Kyiv this month on Sunday, but preliminary data indicated most of the projectiles were shot down, the military administration of the Ukrainian capital said. Serhiy Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration, said on Telegram that the attacks were each six days apart. They appear to be Moscow’s answer to the stunningly successful Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region
“This is already the third ballistic strike on the capital in August, with exact intervals of six days between each attack,” Popko said. No casualties were reported, but regional Gov. Ruslan Kravchenko said two private houses were destroyed and 16 others were damaged by falling debris in the latest assault.
Russia invaded Ukraine two-and-a-half years ago and now holds about almost 20% of its territory in the east and south.
Contributing: Reuters
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