Zelensky praises army for attack in Russian territory

Putin calls surprise offensive in Kursk a 'major provocation'

- RACHEL HAGAN

Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky has praised his army's ability "to surprise" and "achieve results" as it battles Russian forces during an audacious cross-border attack into Russian territory.

Around 1,000 Ukrainian troops in tanks and armoured vehicles successfully broke through the Russian border and into the Kursk region in the early hours of Tuesday with air support from swarms of drones and pounding artillery, according to Russian officials.

Russia has since declared a state of emergency in the region and local officials said yesterday that thousands of people had been evacuated following the attack that an angry Vladimir Putin has labelled a “major provocation”.

While Ukrainian officials haven’t spoken directly about the attack, including Mr Zelensky, Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior aide to the president said that “the root cause of any escalation”, including into Kursk, was “unequivocal aggression” on the part of Russia in believing it could invade Ukraine without consequences.

He also suggested on the country’s national television news broadcast that the military actions could strengthen Ukraine’s position during any future negotiations with Russia to end the war.