(Updated: )
"Russia brought war to our land, and it should feel what it has done," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Aug. 8, which avoided a direct mention of the ongoing fighting in Russia's Kursk Oblast.
Kyiv has so far maintained a policy of silence since reports of a Ukrainian incursion into Kursk Oblast emerged on Aug. 6. Russian President Vladimir Putin referred to the situation as "a large-scale provocation."
Kursk Oblast lies on the border with Ukraine's Sumy Oblast, which has been experiencing daily Russian attacks since the liberation of its parts in April 2022.
Much of the fighting is reportedly taking place around Sudzha, a village with a population of around 5,000 people located less than 10 kilometers (six miles) from the border with Ukraine.
Zelensky did not refer to the situation in Kursk explicitly in his evening address, but said that "Ukrainians know how to achieve their goals," and achieving the goals of war "was not our choice."
"We strive to achieve our goals as soon as possible in peacetime – under just peace conditions," Zelensky added.
At the same time, Russia is ramping up attacks in Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast, particularly in the direction of Pokrovsk, Toretsk, and Chasiv Yar.
Zelensky said he was grateful to "each soldier and commander who ensures the defense of our Ukrainian positions and the fulfillment of our defensive tasks."
Francis Farrell
