Ukrainian forces have begun "to push the war out into the aggressor's territory," President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Aug. 10.
The statement marks Zelensky's most public acknowledgement of Ukraine's cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast, which began on Aug. 6.
"Today, Commander-in-Chief Syrskyi has already reported several times, on the front-line situation and on our actions to push the war out into the aggressor's territory," Zelensky said.
"I thank every unit of our Defense Forces that makes this happen."
Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack against Kursk Oblast, which borders Ukraine's northeastern Sumy Oblast, on Aug. 6. Russia's Defense Ministry acknowledged the incursion on Aug. 9, admitting its forces were fighting the Ukrainian army on the outskirts of the town of Sudzha.
Russian authorities on Aug. 10 announced a so-called "counter-terrorism operation" in bordering Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod oblasts in response to the incursion.
Ukrainian troops on Aug. 10 then reportedly entered Russia's Belgorod Oblast, three kilometers away from the Ukrainian border.
Kyiv has largely maintained a policy of silence on the incursion, despite the ongoing fighting and Ukraine's continuing advance. Zelensky has previously alluded to the move, saying on Aug. 8 that "Russia brought war to our land, and it should feel what it has done."
While Zelensky did not mention Kursk or Belgorod oblasts directly in his Aug. 10 remarks, he acknowledged that the Ukrainian military is taking action to bring the war back to Russian soil.
"Ukraine is proving that it really knows how to restore justice and guarantees exactly the kind of pressure that is needed – pressure on the aggressor," he said.
Francis Farrell
