Russia must “feel” the effects of “war”, says Volodymyr Zelensky after his army’s incursion into the Kursk region

The Ukrainian president said on Thursday, August 8, that Russia, the target of a major incursion by Ukrainian troops in the border region of Kursk for the third consecutive day, should in turn “to feel” the consequences of the invasion it launched in February 2022. More than a thousand Ukrainian soldiers with around ten tanks and twenty armored vehicles entered this region on Tuesday, according to the Russian general staff, which said it was doing everything to push them back across the border.

This contingent, however, appears to have gained ground, seizing several square kilometres and catching Russian forces off guard, although kyiv has kept almost total silence on the operation. “Russia brought war to our country and should feel it” the effects, Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening speech, without directly mentioning this incursion.

In a message published on X, his advisor Mykhailo Podoliak also claimed that this surprise offensive was a consequence of “the aggression” Russian in Ukraine, without clearly attributing it to kyiv’s forces.Now, a large part of the international community considers Russia a legitimate target for operations of any type and with any weapon.”he added, as many Western countries have banned Ukraine from using the weapons they supply to strike Russian territory.

The United States, kyiv’s main supporter, repeated on Thursday “firmly support Ukraine’s efforts to defend itself against Russian aggression,” without commenting on the details of the situation. The day before, Washington had specified that it had questioned the Ukrainian authorities to understand the “goals” of this incursion of unprecedented magnitude.