Kyiv: Days after Ukraine launched a shock military action in Russia’s Kursk border region, President Volodymyr Zelensky broke his government’s silence on the matter in his address on Saturday night and indirectly acknowledged the action as “turning the tide of war to the territory of the aggressor”. Two people, including a four-year-old boy, were killed in Russia’s drone and missile attack on Ukraine’s Kyiv overnight on Sunday. Kursk regional governor Alexei Smirnov said Russian air defense systems shot down a Ukrainian missile that hit a residential building, injuring 13 people.
The Ukrainian Air Force said that Russia fired four ballistic missiles and 57 Shahed drones on Ukraine, but its air defense system shot down 53 drones. According to Ukraine’s emergency service, Russia fired several missiles at a residential area in Kiev’s Brovary district, damaging buildings there and the bodies of a 35-year-old man and his son were recovered from the rubble. Three people were also injured in this attack. Serhiy Popko, head of the ‘Kiev City Military Administration’, said that Russia has targeted the Ukrainian capital for the second time this month.
Popko said that the ballistic missiles fired by Russia could not reach the capital but affected the suburbs, while the drone aiming towards the capital was shot down. Zelensky, citing preliminary information, said that Russia used a North Korean missile in the attack. Ukraine and the US have previously said that Russia has used North Korean missiles in the war.
Zelensky once again appealed to Western countries to increase aid to Ukraine and said that “In order to stop the Russian terror, we need not only complete impenetrable air defense to protect our cities and communities, but also strong decisions from allies that will remove restrictions on our defense action.” Meanwhile, today is the sixth day of Ukraine’s aggressive action in Russia. This Ukrainian action is its (Ukraine’s) biggest such attack after the Russian invasion and an unexpected move of Ukrainian military units on Russian soil.
Moscow has been stunned and top Russian military officials are in a very uncomfortable position and they are trying their best to deal with it. However, the exact goal of the (Ukrainian) operation is unclear because Ukrainian military officials have adopted a policy of secrecy to ensure success. Military experts say that its purpose is probably to force the Russian military assets to be moved elsewhere from the fighting in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region. However, a presidential adviser said that this could strengthen Ukraine’s hand in any future talks with Russia.
