The Ukrainian advance into Russian territory is seen as part of Kiev’s defensive struggle against Moscow’s war of aggression. The long silence on the background of the offensive is now probably coming to an end.
After the advance of Ukrainian troops in the Russian border region in the Kursk region, the first possible explanations for the surprise attack have now come from Kiev. “Russia has brought the war to our country and should feel what it has done,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky in his evening video message broadcast in Kiev. The head of state did not mention the fighting by Ukrainian soldiers on Russian territory in the Kursk region. He did say, however, that the country wants to achieve a just peace as soon as possible.
The adviser in Zelensky’s office, Mykhailo Podoliak, pointed to the international reaction to the Ukrainian attack on the Kursk region. The reaction was “absolutely calm, balanced, objective” and was based on the “spirit of international law” and the “principles of waging a defensive war,” Podoliak said on Telegram. The EU had previously declared that Ukraine had the right to attack the aggressor’s territory in its defensive fight against the Russian war of aggression.
“The impossible has become possible, and the mythical Russian brutality and excess have now turned against Russia itself,” said Podolyak about the situation in Kursk. A large part of the international community now considers Russia a legitimate target for any operations and weapons. Today, Ukraine is not only fighting with the occupying army, but also successfully against historically strong pro-Russian sympathies and against fears in the West, he said.
Ukraine has repeatedly pointed out that Russia is a defeatable enemy and wants to use this first invasion by a foreign army since the end of World War II to show that the country is vulnerable. According to media in Kiev, Podolyak had previously stated on television that the fighting was intended to strengthen Ukraine’s negotiating position. However, it is unclear whether Ukraine will be successful in the Kursk region.
“Ukrainians can achieve their goals,” said Zelensky in his video message. He had been briefed on the situation in the war zone by the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Olexander Syrsky. He did not give any details, but stressed that the results were what the country currently needs. Previously, Syrsky had published a photo on social media that was supposed to show him in the assembly area – presumably in Sumy on the border, from where the Ukrainian soldiers entered the Russian region of Kursk.
Meanwhile, fighting between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers continued in the Kursk region. According to Russian military bloggers, the Ukrainians were strengthening their positions in some areas. Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin had spoken of a major provocation by Ukraine. According to Russian military sources, hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have already been killed and injured and dozens of tanks and other military equipment destroyed. The information cannot be independently verified.
