Ukraine president indirectly confirms daring military incursion on Russian soil

Days after Ukraine began a surprise military incursion into Russia’s Kursk border region, President Volodymyr Zelensky broke the government’s silence on it in his nightly address on Saturday by indirectly acknowledging ongoing military action to “push the war out into the aggressor’s territory”.

Overnight into Sunday, a Russian drone and missile barrage on Kyiv killed two people – a man and his four-year-old son.

In Russia, Kursk’s regional governor said a Ukrainian missile shot down by Russian air defences fell on a residential building, injuring 13 people.

Russia attacked Ukraine with four ballistic missiles and 57 Shahed drones, Ukraine’s Air Force said. Air defences shot down 53 drones.

The bodies of a 35-year old man and his young son were found under rubble after fragments of missiles fell on a residential area in Kyiv’s suburban Brovary district, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service on Sunday.

Another three people in the area were injured in the attack.

Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said it was the second time this month that Kyiv has been targeted.

He said ballistic missiles did not reach the city centre but suburbs took the hit, while drones aiming for the capital were shot down.

Mr Zelensky, citing preliminary information, said Russia had used a North Korean missile in the strike. Ukraine and the US have previously said Russia has used North Korean missiles in the war.

Mr Zelensky reiterated calls to Western allies to step up assistance to Ukraine, and that “to really stop Russian terror, we need not only a full-fledged air shield that will protect all our cities and communities, but also strong decisions from partners – decisions that will remove restrictions on our defensive actions”.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s incursion into Russia continued for a sixth day.

The largest such attack since the full-scale invasion and unprecedented for its use of Ukrainian military units on Russian soil, it caught Moscow unaware and was an embarrassment to Russian military leaders who have scrambled to contain the breach.

The exact aims of the operation remain unclear and Ukrainian military officials have adopted a policy of secrecy, presumably to ensure its success.

Military experts have said that it is probably intended to draw Russian reserves away from the intense fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, while a presidential adviser suggested it may strengthen Kyiv’s hand in any future negotiations with Russia.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Sunday that Ukraine “understands perfectly well” that the recent attacks “make no sense from a military point of view”.

“The Kyiv regime is continuing its terrorist activity with the sole purpose of intimidating the peaceful population of Russia,” she added.

Kursk acting governor Aleksei Smirnov said on Sunday that “Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance group” entered the Belovsky district the previous day, but that the situation had been “stabilised”.

In Russia, the Defence Ministry said 35 drones were shot down overnight over the Kursk, Voronezh, Belgorod, Bryansk and Oryol regions.

Ukraine has not commented on the Sunday drone attacks inside Russia. But it comes as Ukraine has increased the pace of similar drone attacks largely targeting military infrastructure and oil depots in recent weeks.

Meanwhile, Belarus said on Saturday that it is sending more troops to its border with Ukraine, saying Ukrainian drones have violated its airspace as part of Kyiv’s military incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

Authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko said Belarusian air defence forces destroyed dozens of targets flying from Ukraine over the Mogilev region, which borders Russia, on Friday evening.

“The Ukrainian armed forces violated all rules of conduct and violated the airspace of the Republic of Belarus. In the eastern direction, very close to us in the Kostyukovichi district,” Mr Lukashenko said at a meeting in Minsk on Saturday.

Belarusian Defence Minister Viktor Khrenin said Belarus regards the violation of its airspace as a provocation and is “ready for retaliatory action”.