(AFP) Thousands of Ukrainian troops are taking part in a major incursion into Russian territory aimed at destabilising Russia by exposing its weaknesses, a senior Ukrainian official told AFP.
“We are going on the offensive. Our aim is to expand the enemy’s positions, inflict maximum damage and destabilize the situation in Russia so that it is unable to defend its own borders,” the security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The Russian military had said about 1,000 Ukrainian troops had been deployed in a cross-border advance that began on Tuesday, seemingly catching the Kremlin by surprise as Ukrainian forces broke through Russian defenses.
Asked if the 1,000 figure was correct, the official said: “It’s a lot more… thousands.”
After days of official silence, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy acknowledged the attack for the first time in a speech on Saturday night, saying Kiev was “pushing the war into the aggressor’s territory.”
Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and has launched a relentless military campaign, occupying large swaths of eastern and southern Ukraine and subjecting Ukrainian cities to daily missile and drone attacks.
Ukrainian forces are badly outgunned after recapturing vast swathes of territory in 2022 and are increasingly struggling to supply men and weapons.
But Ukrainian troops stormed across the border on Tuesday, mounting Kiev’s largest and most successful offensive yet.
Russian forces have advanced several kilometers, forcing them to rush in reserves and additional equipment, though neither side has given precise details of how many troops they have committed.
Russia has evacuated more than 76,000 civilians from the area, while Ukraine said last week it needed to evacuate 20,000 people from the Sumy region just across the border.
Russia launches “counterterror” operation in response to invasion of Ukrainehttps://t.co/BQpQYz4T5N
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The Russian Defense Ministry released footage on Sunday showing Russian forces destroying Ukrainian military equipment as they advanced into the Kursk region of western Russia.
The shocking offensive is now in its sixth day.
Ukrainian officials said late on Saturday that the attack was “a great boost to our morale, the morale of the Ukrainian army, the state and society,” following weeks of Russian military advances into eastern Ukraine.
“This operation showed that we can go on the offensive and we can make progress,” the official said.
“Russia appears to have problems with coordination and readiness to act,” he said.
But so far it has had little impact on fighting in the east, he said.
“The situation has fundamentally remained unchanged. Russia continues to exert pressure in the east and has not withdrawn its forces from the region,” he said, adding only that “the intensity of Russian attacks has slightly lessened.”
The official said Ukrainian forces would respect international humanitarian law while on Russian territory and had no plans to annex areas they currently control.
“There is no thought of annexation… We are operating in strict accordance with international law,” he said, contrasting it with alleged violations by Russian forces in the occupied territories.
When asked whether the aim was to seize the Kursk nuclear power plant near the border, he replied, “We will wait to see how Operation Kursk unfolds.”
“We will never have any problems with nuclear security, I can guarantee you that,” he said.
The International Atomic Energy Agency urged both countries to “exercise maximum restraint in order to avoid a nuclear accident which could result in severe radiological consequences.”
Ukraine claims successful attack on oil depot on Russian soilhttps://t.co/jrqlzv0MCl
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The White House said Wednesday it was in contact with Ukraine to learn more about the “objectives” of the invasion.
President Joe Biden in May authorized Kyiv to use U.S.-supplied weapons against targets across Russia’s border to repel Moscow’s advance on the Kharkiv region.
But White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said “nothing has changed” about U.S. policy to deter broader attacks or attacks on Russian soil.
Asked whether Western countries had been informed of the Ukrainian attack, the official said it was a “mistake.”
“Judging by how actively Western weapons are being used, our Western partners were indirectly involved in the plan,” he said.
The official said he expected Russia to “eventually” stop Ukrainian forces at Kursk and retaliate with a massive missile strike involving Ukraine’s “decision-making centres.”
Already, there has been more intense shelling of the Ukrainian region of Sumy, just across the border from Kursk.
An overnight missile attack near the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, killed a man and his four-year-old son, emergency officials said.
Russia also said a Ukrainian missile attack wounded 15 people in the city of Kursk, about 90 kilometers (55 miles) from the border, and promised a “tough response.”
