Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has issued a stark warning to Russia, declaring that “war is coming home” as Ukrainian forces launched their most significant cross-border attack since the conflict began.
In his regular evening address on Monday, Zelensky emphasized the reversal of fortunes in the war, stating, “Russia brought war to others, and now it is coming home.”
The warning follows a dramatic Ukrainian assault on the Russian border last week, which forced the evacuation of at least 200,000 Russians and reportedly left President Vladimir Putin embarrassed.
Zelensky highlighted that the current offensive targets the Kursk border region, an area in which Russia had previously launched attacks during the more than two years of the war. He argued that it is “absolutely fair to destroy Russian terrorists where they are.”
On Monday, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s top military commander, revealed that Ukrainian forces have taken control of approximately 400 square miles in the Kursk region. Syrskyi assured us that the situation was under control and that fighting would continue along the front line.
In response, Russian forces have intensified their counterattacks. Moscow launched missiles, drones, and airstrikes against Ukrainian positions, claiming to have halted Ukraine’s advance.
Russia’s defence ministry released footage of bombers targeting Ukrainian troops and infantry assaulting Ukrainian positions in the Kursk region. Major General Apti Alaudinov, commander of the Chechen Akhmat special forces unit, asserted that Russia has successfully thwarted the Ukrainian “blitzkrieg.”
Residents of Kursk have begun recording videos expressing their distress and pleading for assistance from Putin, who condemned the attack as an effort by Kyiv to disrupt Russia’s offensive in the Donbas region and to gain leverage in potential future peace talks.
“The enemy will keep trying to destabilize the situation in the border zone to try to destabilize the domestic political situation in our country,” Putin said. He stressed that Russia’s primary objective is to “drive the enemy out of our territories” and to ensure the security of the state border with the help of border services.
