Russia-Ukraine war live updates: Kyiv hit as Ukraine admits Kursk incursion
- Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has acknowledged that Ukrainian forces are fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, saying the ongoing incursion proves that Ukraine “can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor”.
- Russia has imposed a sweeping security regime in three border regions as battles entered their sixth day, while Belarus, a staunch ally of Moscow, has sent more troops to its border with Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of violating its airspace.
Ukraine claims to have destroyed 53 out of 57 Russian drones
Kyiv’s air force says Ukrainian forces have destroyed 53 out of 57 attack drones launched by Russia during an overnight air strike.
It said the drones were destroyed in various parts of Ukraine during the attack.
Zelenskyy says Russia used North Korean missile in Kyiv region strike
The Ukrainian president says that Russian forces have likely used a North Korean missile during the overnight air strike on the Kyiv region.
“According to preliminary information, the Russians used a North Korean missile in this attack – yet another deliberate terrorist strike against Ukraine,” Zelenskyy wrote on social media.
“Pyrotechnic experts are still working to determine the exact data regarding this missile.”
Zelenskyy admits Ukraine’s military operation inside Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has acknowledged for the first time that Ukrainian forces are fighting in a surprise offensive in Russia’s Kursk region.
Moscow’s forces are now in their sixth day of intense battles against Kyiv’s largest incursion into Russian territory since the start of the war two and a half years ago. The incursion left southwestern parts of Russia vulnerable before reinforcements started arriving.
In a sign of the gravity of the situation, Russia imposed a sweeping security regime in three border regions on Saturday while Belarus, a staunch ally of Moscow, sent more troops to its border with Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of violating its air space.
In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy said he had discussed the operation with top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyii as he promised to restore justice after Russia launched the full-scale invasion of its smaller neighbour in February 2022.
“Today, I received several reports from Commander-in-Chief Syrskyii regarding the front lines and our actions to push the war onto the aggressor’s territory,” Zelenskyy said, adding, “Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor.”
32 Ukrainian drones, 4 missiles shot down: Moscow
Russia’s Defence Ministry says it has destroyed 14 Ukrainian drones and four Tochka-U tactical ballistic missiles overnight over the Kursk region on the border with Ukraine and 18 drones over other Russian regions that Ukraine frequently attacks.
Kursk officials said 13 people were injured in the region’s capital, also called Kursk, after debris from a destroyed Ukrainian missile fell onto a nine-storey residential building.
It was not clear whether there was further damage. Moscow and Kyiv rarely disclose the full extent of attacks except for injuries and damage to residential buildings.
Kursk’s acting governor, Alexei Smirnov, ordered local authorities to speed up the evacuation of civilians in at-risk areas.
On Saturday, TASS, a Russian state news agency, reported that more than 76,000 people had been evacuated.
