Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s invasion of Russia’s Kursk region was aimed at creating a “buffer zone” to prevent further attacks from Moscow across the border.
It is the first time that the Ukrainian president has announced the target of the operation, which began on August 6.
In an evening speech on Sunday, Zelensky said: “Our main task in all defensive operations now is to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible and to carry out maximum counteroffensives.”
“This includes the creation of a buffer zone on the territory of the aggressor – our operation in the Kursk region,” he added.
He had previously stated that the aim of the operation was to protect communities in the neighboring Sumy region from constant shelling.
Ukrainian air defense units have repelled a nighttime attack on their territory, including Kiev, and destroyed all eleven drones launched from Moscow, the Ukrainian Air Force said on Monday.
The drones were destroyed over the regions of Mykolaiv, Cherkasy, Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Sumy and Donetsk, the Air Force said via the messaging app Telegram.
Early Monday, explosions that sounded like air defense units were reported on the outskirts of Kyiv. There were no immediate reports of damage from the attack or falling drone debris.
The Ukrainian air force also destroyed another strategic bridge over the Sejm in Russia’s Kursk region, limiting the supply capacity of a Russian group that was trying to thwart the Ukrainian incursion, the Ukrainian commander said on Sunday.
“Towards Kursk. One bridge less! The Ukrainian Air Force continues to deprive the enemy of logistical capabilities through precise air strikes, which significantly affects the course of hostilities,” said Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk in the messaging app Telegram.
While there was no immediate reaction from Moscow to Ukraine’s reports, Russian military bloggers, including the well-known War Gonzo project, reported that there was a Ukrainian attack on the bridge in Swannoye on Sunday.
The bridge was the second attack by Ukraine since Friday.
Kyiv said it had captured more than 80 settlements covering 1,150 square kilometers in the Kursk region since the surprise border crossing, making it Russia’s largest invasion since World War II.
