Ukraine’s top commander has stated that Kyiv’s forces now control 1,000 sq km of Russian territory as they continue their largest cross-border incursion in over two-and-a-half years of full-scale war.
Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that Ukraine is maintaining its “offensive operation in the Kursk region,” which began seven days ago.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky remarked that Russia had brought war to other nations, and now it is returning to Russia.
However, Russian leader Vladimir Putin called the offensive a “major provocation” and ordered Russian forces to “drive 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 instructed to leave.
The local governor reported that approximately 28 villages in the area have fallen to Ukrainian forces, 12 civilians have been killed, and “the situation remains difficult.”
Ukrainian troops launched their surprise attack last Tuesday, advancing up to 18 miles (30 km) into Russia.
While the offensive has boosted morale among Ukrainian forces, analysts warn that this strategy brings new dangers to Ukraine.
A senior British military source, who requested anonymity, told the BBC that there is a risk Moscow could be so angered by this incursion that it might intensify its attacks on Ukraine’s civilian population and infrastructure.
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, and 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.
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 advised people to seek shelter from missiles in rooms without windows and with solid walls.
In Belgorod, the region adjacent to Kursk, approximately 11,000 people were also urged to evacuate. Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov informed residents of the Krasnaya Yaruga district that they were being relocated due to “enemy activity on the border.”
He issued a similar missile warning and instructed people to take refuge in their basements.
In his nightly address, Ukraine’s president 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,” Mr Zelensky added.
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 news agency AFP that their aim was “to inflict maximum losses and to destabilise the situation in Russia”.
Speaking to the BBC’s Newshour programme, Kurt Volker, a former US Ambassador to Nato, said Ukraine’s incursion could cost President Putin politically at home.
He said Ukraine’s incursion into Russian territory had happened “because of President Putin and the way he’s conducted this war.”
“That is not going to be lost on the elites in Russia. It’s not going to be lost on the public. Putin has provoked attacks on the Russian territory itself and people are having to be evacuated. That’s quite something.”
During a meeting with President Zelensky in Kyiv on Monday, US Senator Lindsey Graham described the cross-border operation as “brilliant” and “bold,” urging the Biden administration to supply Ukraine with the necessary weapons.
In Russia, some have questioned how Ukraine managed to enter the Kursk region. Pro-Russian war blogger Yuri Podolyaka described the situation as “alarming.”
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova indicated that a strong response from Russia’s armed forces “will not take long.”
Russian ally Belarus announced it is increasing its troop presence at its border, following claims that Ukraine had entered its airspace with drones.
Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency reported late Monday that it had inspected a damaged cooling tower at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant in Ukraine after a fire on Sunday, but could not immediately determine the cause.
President Zelensky has accused Russia of deliberately starting the fire to “blackmail” Ukraine, while the Kremlin-installed regional governor of Zaporizhzhia has attributed the incident to Ukrainian shelling.