ReutersUkraine’s top commander said Kiev’s forces, which control 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory, were carrying out the largest cross-border incursion in two-and-a-half years of all-out war.
Commander Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukraine was continuing “offensive operations in the Kursk region” seven days after the operation began.
Ukrainian President Zelensky said that Russia brought war to other countries, and now the war has returned to Russia.
But Russian leader Vladimir Putin described the offensive as a “major provocation” and ordered Russian troops to “drive the enemy from our territory.”
More and more people are being evacuated from Russia’s western regions for safety reasons, with a further 59,000 people told to leave on Monday.
The local governor said that about 28 villages in the area have fallen into the hands of Ukrainian troops, and 12 civilians have been killed. “The situation remains difficult.”
Ukrainian troops launched a surprise attack last Tuesday that penetrated 18 miles (30 kilometers) into Russia.
The offensive is said to have boosted Ukrainian morale, but analysts say the strategy has created new dangers for Ukraine.
A senior British military source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the BBC that Moscow was likely to be angered by the invasion and could redouble its attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.
“One of the obvious goals of the enemy is to sow discord, conflict, intimidate people and undermine the unity and cohesion of Russian society,” President Putin said in comments broadcast on state television on Monday.
“Of course, the main mission of the Department of Defense is to drive the enemy out of our territory,” he told a meeting of officials.
The region’s governor said 121,000 people had been evacuated from their homes. He told Putin that about 2,000 Russian citizens remained in areas occupied by Ukrainian forces in the region.
“We know nothing about their fate,” he said.
He warned people to take shelter from missiles in rooms with no windows and solid walls.
In the Belgorod region adjacent to Kursk, about 11,000 people were also urged to leave, governor Vyacheslav Gladkov told people in the Krasnaya Yaruga region , they are being transferred due to “enemy activities at the border.”
He issued similar missile warnings and told people to take shelter in basements.
The Ukrainian president acknowledged the offensive in an evening speech, saying: “If Putin wants to fight so strongly, Russia must be forced to make peace.”
“Russia brought war to other countries, and now it is coming home. Ukraine has always wanted only peace, and we will ensure it,” Zelensky added.
Ukrainian officials said thousands of soldiers were involved in the operation, far exceeding the small incursion initially reported by Russian border guards.
Their aim was to “inflict maximum damage and destabilize Russia”, an official told AFP.
Some in Russia have questioned how Ukraine was able to gain access to the Kursk region, with one pro-Russian war blogger Yuri Podolyanka calling the situation “shocking.”
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said it “won’t take long” for the Russian armed forces to respond forcefully.
Meanwhile, Russia’s ally Belarus said it was beefing up troop levels on its border after claims Ukraine used drones to enter its airspace.
