Ukrainian Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi, stated that Kyiv had gained control of 1000 square kilometers of Russian territory and was continuing to "conduct an offensive operation in the Kursk region" seven days after it began.
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Ukrainian troops launched a surprise offensive operation on August 6, advancing 30 kilometers from the Russian border. According to military officials, thousands of soldiers are involved in the operation, which is far more significant than the "minor incursion" assessed by Russian border guards.
"We see how Russia is really evolving under Putin: 24 years ago, there was the Kursk disaster, the symbolic beginning of his rule. Now, one can see what his end is, and it is again Kursk - the disaster of his war.
This always happens to those who ignore people and rules. Russia brought war to others, and it is now returning. Ukraine has always wanted only peace, and we will certainly achieve it," said the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky.
Vladimir Putin called the Ukrainian attack a "major provocation" and ordered Russian forces to "kick the enemy out of our territory." According to Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor of the district, Ukrainians have occupied 28 settlements. At present, approximately 121 000 residents have left the border areas. In Belgorod, a district near Kursk, around 11 000 people were also told to leave their homes "due to enemy action on the border."
The BBC, citing an anonymous British military official, reports that there is a risk Moscow, enraged by the invasion of Russian territory, will intensify its attacks on Ukraine's civilian population and infrastructure. Kurt Volker, the former US ambassador to NATO, notes that due to the invasion of Ukraine, Putin may face a political price, as it will undoubtedly impact the Russian elites and society.
Putin has provoked attacks on the Russian territory itself and people are having to be evacuated. That's quite something," Volker says.
During a meeting with Zelensky in Kyiv, US Senator Lindsey Graham called the Ukrainian operation "brilliant" and "bold," urging the Biden administration to supply the necessary weapons to Ukraine.
