Zelensky Confirms Ukrainian Incursion Into Russia As War Expands Beyond Borders

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has confirmed that Kyiv’s forces are actively engaging in combat within Russian territory, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict. This revelation follows a surprising cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk region, which has proven to be a major embarrassment for the Kremlin.

A burned car is seen in front of an apartment building damaged after shelling by the Ukrainian side in Kursk, Russia, on Sunday, August 11, 2024.

"Ukraine is showing that it knows how to restore justice and apply the necessary pressure on the aggressor," Zelensky declared in his nightly address on Saturday. He expressed gratitude to every unit of Ukraine’s armed forces for enabling the push to bring the war onto Russian soil.

This statement marks the first official acknowledgment of the operation by Zelensky, which caught both Russia and Ukraine’s allies off guard. Ukrainian officials had remained tight-lipped about the operation, despite emerging evidence—including photos, videos, and eyewitness reports—of Ukrainian soldiers inside Russia.

While Ukraine has previously targeted the Belgorod border region with airstrikes and limited cross-border raids by pro-Ukrainian sabotage groups, the Kursk operation is the first instance of regular Ukrainian and special operations units entering Russian territory.

Moscow has scrambled to respond, imposing a sweeping counter-terror operation in Kursk and two other border regions, leading to the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from Kursk.

On Sunday, Zelensky accused Russian forces of starting a fire at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine. In a video showing smoke billowing from one of the plant's towers, Zelensky reassured that radiation levels were normal but condemned Russia for using the plant to "blackmail Ukraine, Europe, and the world."

Ukrainian servicemen ride a military vehicle near the Russian border in Sumy region, Ukraine, on August 11, 2024.

As the Kursk attack enters its sixth day, it has become a significant development in the two-year-old conflict. The element of surprise appears to have worked in Kyiv's favor, with Russian forces struggling to halt Ukrainian advances.

Zelensky emphasized that the thousands of strikes launched from Russia’s Kursk region against Ukraine warrant a fair response. "Since the start of this summer alone, nearly 2,000 strikes have targeted our Sumy region from the Kursk region: artillery, mortars, drones. Every missile strike is documented, and each one deserves a fair response," he said.

Recent Ukrainian missile and drone strikes on Russian territory demonstrate Kyiv's resolve to retaliate. On Sunday, Russia claimed to have foiled a Ukrainian attack, intercepting drones and Tochka-U tactical missiles aimed at various regions, including Kursk.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian troops had advanced up to 30 kilometers (18.6 miles) inside Russian territory, engaging in combat near the settlements of Tolpino, Zhuravli, and Obshchy Kolodez.

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a U.S.-based conflict monitoring group, confirmed that Ukrainian forces maintained their positions and advanced slightly further over the weekend. By Friday, Russian authorities had lost control of at least 250 square kilometers of territory, according to independent analyses and CNN’s mapping.

Videos circulating on social media depict Ukrainian troops removing Russian flags in Kursk and replacing them with Ukrainian ones. One such video, verified by CNN, shows Ukrainian soldiers removing a Russian flag at a village council building in Sudzhansky district, while another shows troops standing on a Russian flag outside a village club in the same district.

The governor of Kursk region has urged authorities to expedite evacuations, with more than 76,000 people leaving their homes as of Saturday, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

The imposition of a "counterterrorist operation regime" in Kursk, Bryansk, and Belgorod regions on Friday granted Russian authorities expanded powers, including the ability to monitor communications and restrict movement, though it stopped short of declaring a state of war or martial law.

The ISW suggested that the Kremlin may be downplaying the assault to prevent domestic panic or backlash over its inability to defend its own borders. Russian President Vladimir Putin has so far refrained from declaring a state of war or general mobilization, likely to avoid domestic discontent that could threaten his regime.

The surprise attack in Kursk, which Putin labeled a "major provocation," represents a significant win for Kyiv as it continues to defend its territory along parts of the 1,000-kilometer frontline. Meanwhile, Moscow has persisted with its slow, grinding offensive, making incremental gains toward strategically important towns and roads in eastern Ukraine.

Early Sunday, Moscow launched drone and missile attacks on the Kyiv region, killing a four-year-old boy and his father in Brovary, just east of the capital. Ukrainian Air Force commander Mykola Oleshchuk claimed that Russia used North Korean KN-23 ballistic missiles and Iran-made Shahed drones in the attack, though CNN has not independently verified this.

Zelensky further alleged that a missile made in North Korea was responsible for the deaths, stating, "Our experts have precisely identified the type of missile and the exact area in Russia from which it was launched." The White House has previously reported that Russia has used North Korean-supplied short-range ballistic missiles in Ukraine.

The attack followed a strike on a supermarket in Kostiantynivka, Donetsk region, which killed at least 11 people and injured 37 others.

Zelensky noted in a video statement on Sunday that "this week alone, the Russian army launched more than 30 missiles and over 800 guided aerial bombs."

The ongoing conflict has made this summer one of the deadliest for Ukrainian civilians, with July marking the highest civilian casualties since October 2022, according to UN human rights monitors. The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) reported that at least 219 civilians were killed and 1,018 injured in what the agency previously described as a "deadly wave of missile strikes on densely populated areas of Ukraine."