Zelenskyy acknowledges military action to 'push the war out into the aggressor's territory'

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy leaves Downing Street after meeting with Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London in July. Credit: AP

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has acknowledged the surprise military incursion into Russia's Kursk border region in the last week.

In his nightly address late on Saturday he indirectly acknowledged ongoing military actions to “push the war out into the aggressor’s territory”. Until now the Ukrainian government had remained silent on the developments.

The latest attacks bring Ukraine’s incursion into Russia into a sixth day.

The largest such attack since the full-scale invasion and unprecedented for its use of Ukrainian military units on Russian soil, it caught Moscow unaware and was an embarrassment to Russian military leaders who have scrambled to contain the breach.

Evacuation of civilians living in Russia’s border areas with Ukraine continued on Sunday. Russian state television aired footage of evacuees at a tent camp in the city of Kursk.

According to the report by RTR, more than 20 temporary accommodation centres have been set up in the region.

The exact aims of the operation remain unclear, and Ukrainian military officials have adopted a policy of secrecy, presumably to ensure its success.

Two people were killed in the Kyiv region, including a four-year-old boy, in a Russian drone and missile barrage overnight into Sunday.

The bodies of a 35-year-old man and his son were found under rubble after fragments of missiles fell on a residential area in Kyiv’s suburban Brovary district, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service.

Another three people in the district were also injured in the attack.

Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration said the it was the second time this month Kyiv was targeted.

Mr Popko said ballistic missiles did not reach the capital but that suburbs took the hit, while drones aiming for the capital were shot down.

In Russia, the defence ministry said 35 drones were shot down overnight over the Kursk, Voronezh, Belgorod, Bryansk and Oryol regions.

Residents of the apartment building damaged after shelling by the Ukrainian side leave an area in Kursk, Russia. Credit: AP

Thirteen people were wounded when a Ukrainian missile shot down by Russian air defences fell on a residential building in Kursk overnight into Sunday, acting regional Gov. Alexei Smirnov said on Telegram.

Ukraine has not commented on the attack inside Russia, but has increased the pace of attacks targeting Russian territory in recent weeks.

On Saturday Russia announced increased security measures in the border region of Kursk, where an incursion this week by Ukrainian forces caught Russian troops off guard and exposed its military vulnerabilities.

Have you heard our podcast Talking Politics? Tom, Robert and Anushka dig into the biggest issues dominating the political agenda in every episode…