Kyiv, Aug 11: Days after Ukraine began a surprise military incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy broke the government’s silence on it late Saturday by indirectly acknowledging ongoing military actions to “push the war out into the aggressor’s territory” in his nightly address.
Ukraine’s incursion into Russia continued for a sixth day Sunday. It’s the largest such attack since the Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022 and is unprecedented for its use of Ukrainian military units on Russian soil. Ukraine’s raid into Russia 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 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. Military experts have said that it is likely intended to draw Russian reserves away from the intense fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, while a presidential adviser suggested that it may strengthen Kyiv’s hand in any future negotiations with Russia.
But Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Sunday that Ukraine “understands perfectly well” that the recent attacks “make no sense from a military point of view.”
“The Kyiv regime is continuing its terrorist activity with the sole purpose of intimidating the peaceful population of Russia,” she added.
Overnight into Sunday, a Russian drone and missile barrage on Kyiv killed two people, including a 4-year-old boy.
Russia attacked Ukraine with four ballistic missiles and 57 Shahed drones, Ukraine’s air force said. Air defences shot down 53 of the drones.
The bodies of a 35-year old man and his son were found under rubble after missile fragments 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 wounded in the attack.
It was the second time this month that Kyiv has been targeted, said Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration.
Popko said ballistic missiles didn’t reach the capital, but that suburbs took the hit, while drones aiming for the capital were shot down.
Zelenskyy, citing preliminary information, said that Russia had used a North Korean missile in the strike. Ukraine and the US have previously said that Russia has used North Korean missiles in the war. (AP)
