President Volodymyr Zelensky has made his first comments on the advance of Ukrainian troops in the Russian border region of Kursk.
“Russia brought war to our country and the country must feel what it has done,” Zelensky said in his video message that evening.
He did not mention the fighting of Ukrainian soldiers on Russian territory in the Kursk area. “We strive to achieve our goals as soon as possible in peacetime – under just peace conditions. And it will happen,” he said in an English-language transcript of the speech.
Zelensky’s office adviser Mykhailo Podolyak pointed to the international reaction to the Ukrainian attack on the Kursk region. The reaction was “absolutely calm, balanced, objective” and based on the “spirit of international law” and the “principles of conducting a defensive war,” Podolyak posted on Telegram.
Earlier in the day, the European Union had stated that Ukraine has the right to also attack the territory of the aggressor in its defensive struggle against the Russian invasion.
Adviser says Russia is a legitimate target
“The impossible has become possible, and the mythical Russian cruelty and excess is now turning against Russia itself,” Podolyak said of the situation in Kursk.
Much of the international community now views Russia as a legitimate target for operations and weapons, he said.
Today, Ukraine is not only fighting the occupying army, but also successfully fighting against historically strong pro-Russian sympathies and fears in the West, he said.
Ukraine has repeatedly stressed that Russia is a victorious enemy and, with this first invasion of Russia by a foreign army since the end of World War II, wants to show that the country is vulnerable.
Earlier, Podolyak had explained on television, according to Kiev media, that the fighting is intended to strengthen Ukraine’s negotiating position. However, it is still unclear whether Ukraine will be successful in the Kursk region.
Zelensky says Ukraine needs these results
“Ukrainians know how to achieve their goals. And achieving the goals in war was not our choice,” Zelensky said in his video message.
He had been briefed on the situation in the war zone by the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
He did not give details, but stressed that the results were productive and exactly what his country needs at the moment.
Syrskyi had previously posted a photo on social media showing him in the assembly area – presumably in Sumy on the border from where Ukrainian soldiers invaded the Russian region of Kursk.
Meanwhile, fighting between Russian and Ukrainian soldiers continued in the Kursk region.
According to Russian military bloggers, the Ukrainians are partially consolidating their positions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke of a major provocation by Ukraine. According to Russian military sources, hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and wounded, and dozens of tanks and other military equipment destroyed. These claims cannot be independently verified.
