Ukraine Claims Control Over 1,000 sq Km Of Russian Territory In Kyiv's 'Biggest Incursion Since War'

Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi claimed that Kyiv continued to 'conduct an offensive operation in the Kursk region' seven days after it began.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia had brought war to others, and now it was coming back to Russia.

Source : PTI

Russia-Ukraine War: As Ukraine presses for its biggest cross-border incursion since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the country’s top commander has said Kyiv's forces control 1,000 sq km of Russian territory.

Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said that Kyiv continued to "conduct an offensive operation in the Kursk region" seven days after it began, as reported by the BBC. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russia had brought war to others, and now it was coming back to Russia.

On the other hand, Zelensky’s Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin reacted to the offensive and termed it a "major provocation," as per the BBC report. He ordered Russian forces to "kick the enemy out of our territory."

An increasing number of people have been evacuated from the western Russian region for their safety, with an additional 59,000 told to leave.

The local governor said some 28 villages in the area had fallen to Ukrainian forces, that 12 civilians had been killed, and that "the situation remains difficult". The Russian President said the incursion was an attempt by Ukraine to “improve its negotiation position.”

“But what kind of negotiations can we even talk about with people who indiscriminately strike at civilians, at civilian infrastructure, or try to create threats to nuclear power facilities. What can we even talk about with them?” Putin said, as quoted by CNN.

Last Tuesday, Ukrainian troops launched their surprise attack and advanced up to 18 miles (30 km) into Russia.

‘Moscow Can Redouble Its Attack On Ukraine’

There was the risk that this incursion would so anger Moscow that it could redouble its attacks on Ukraine’s civilian population and infrastructure, a senior British military source who refused to be named told the BBC. 

In comments aired on state television, President Putin said on Monday: "One of the obvious goals of the enemy is to sow discord, strife, intimidate people, destroy the unity and cohesion of Russian society.

"The main task is, of course, for the defence ministry to dislodge the enemy from our territories," he told a meeting of officials, as quoted by the BBC.

The region's governor said 121,000 people had been evacuated from their homes. He told Mr Putin that about 2,000 Russian citizens remained in areas occupied by Ukrainian forces in the area.

"We don't know anything about their fate," he said. He warned people to take shelter from missiles in rooms without windows and with solid walls.

In Belgorod, the region next to Kursk, around 11,000 people were also requested to leave, as governor Vyacheslav Gladkov told people from the Krasnaya Yaruga district they were being moved due to "enemy activity on the border".

He issued a similar missile warning and told people to shelter in their basements.

Russia Must Be Forced To Make Peace, Says Zelenskyy 

In his address, Ukraine president Zelenskyy acknowledged the offensive, saying: "Russia must be forced to make peace if Putin wants to fight so badly." "Russia brought war to others, now it's coming home. Ukraine has always wanted only peace, and we will certainly ensure peace," he further stated, as quoted by the BBC.

Ukrainian officials have said thousands of troops are engaged in the operation, far more than the small incursion initially reported by Russian border guards. An official told the news agency AFP that they aimed "to inflict maximum losses and to destabilise the situation in Russia".

During a meeting with Zelensky in Kyiv on Monday, US Senator Lindsey Graham called the cross-border operation "brilliant" and "bold", and urged the Biden administration to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs.