Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed his country’s troops are fighting inside Russia, marking the first time the leader publicly recognized the surprise attack into the western Kursk region.
“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,” Zelensky said Saturday in a video address to the country on the social platform X.
Zelensky said he received several reports from top Ukrainian military official Oleksandr Syrskyi about the nation’s front lines, describing “actions and the push to drive the war onto the aggressor’s territory.”
“I thank every unit of our defense forces that is making this possible,” he added.
The surprise attack last week marked the first from a foreign nation on Russia’s European soil since World War II and set off an emergency in the Kursk region bordering Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy province.
Ukrainian troops and armored vehicles entered the Kursk region Tuesday night and advanced at least 20 miles into the area following days of fighting. Troops captured dozens of Russian border guards, took several towns and surrounded the city of Sudzha, where fighting is ongoing.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called the incursion a “major provocation,” stoking fears the Kremlin will escalate the war against Ukraine, or with the U.S., the primary supporter of Kyiv.
The Defense Department said last week Ukraine’s attack in Russia was not escalatory and is consistent with U.S. policy.
The U.S. has a policy of allowing Ukraine to make strikes in Russia with American-made weapons as long as it is related to a cross-border attack from Russian forces, and Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said the Kursk attack, even though it involves troops instead of missiles or drones, is consistent with that policy.
Russian authorities tried to evacuate residents and imposed a security regime in three border regions Saturday, Reuters reported, and Belarus — an ally of Russia — sent more troops to its border with Ukraine.
Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday it destroyed 14 Ukrainian drones and four Tochka-U tactical ballistic missiles overnight over the Kursk region, along with 18 drones over other Russian areas, the news wire added.
Zelensky on Sunday said he was “grateful” for the defense packages and is “eagerly awaiting decisions on long-range capabilities” from the U.S., United Kingdom and France.
Zelensky confirmed last week the first F-16 fighter jets arrived in Ukraine following a lengthy delay.
Brad Dress contributed.