President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledges Ukraine’s military operation in Russia

Russian drone and missile attacks kill two in Kyiv, injure 13 in Kursk; escalating conflict between Ukraine and Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged for the first time on Saturday (August 10, 2024) that Ukrainian forces were fighting in the surprise offensive in Russia’s Kursk, as attacks on the border region continued with authorities rushing to evacuate people.

Moscow’s forces were in their sixth day of intense battles against Kyiv’s largest incursion into Russian territory since the start of the war, which left southwestern parts of Russia vulnerable before reinforcement started arriving.

In a sign of the gravity of the situation, Russia imposed a sweeping security regime in three border regions on Saturday (August 10, 2024), while Belarus, a staunch ally of Moscow, sent more troops to its border with Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of violating its air space.

In his nightly video address, Mr. Zelenskyy said he had discussed the operation with top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi, vowing to restore justice after Russia launched the full-scale invasion on its smaller neighbour in February 2022.

“Today, I received several reports from Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi regarding the front lines and our actions to push the war onto the aggressor’s territory,” Mr. Zelenskyy said. “Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor.”

Russia’s Defence Ministry said on Sunday (August 11, 2024) it had destroyed 14 Ukrainian drones and four Tochka-U tactical ballistic missiles overnight over the Kursk region, and 18 drones over other Russian regions that Ukraine frequently attacks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin cast the Ukrainian attack — which military analysts say caught the Kremlin off-guard — as a major provocation.