Ukraine's surprise invasion of Russia's Kursk region is aimed at creating a “buffer zone” between the two countries and further complicating Moscow's cross-border offensive, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Sunday.
“Our main task now in defensive operations in general is to destroy as much of Russia's military potential as possible and to carry out maximum counteroffensive actions,” Zelenskyy said in his evening speech, the first public acknowledgement of the true intent of the offensive.
“This includes the creation of a buffer zone on the territory of the aggressor – our operation in the Kursk region,” Zelenskyy continued.
Ukrainian forces destroyed a bridge in the region this weekend and attacked a second in an attempt to disrupt Russian supply lines. Pro-Kremlin war bloggers have since acknowledged that the first attack, which targeted a bridge over the Seim River near the village of Glushkovo, Russia, was a success. The location and effectiveness of the second attack were not specified as of Sunday morning.
Putin despairs as Ukraine advances troops on “dormant front” in border security operation
The embedded image shows Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy standing at the site of a purportedly successful attack on a Russian bridge that serves as a key supply route for forces in the country's Kursk Oblast. (Ukrainian President/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The effect of the reported attacks on Russian infrastructure further complicates a situation that has already put Moscow on the unexpected defensive, forcing it to reassess its strategy along Ukraine’s northeastern border, which is a region that was largely dismissed as insignificant to the conflict just months after it began in 2022.
“The Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region [has forced] “This is a decision point for the Kremlin and the Russian military command on whether to consider the 1,000-kilometer international border with northeastern Ukraine as a legitimate front line that Russia must defend,” George Barros of the Institute for the Study of War previously told Fox News Digital.
This infographic was created in Ankara, Turkey on August 8, 2024. On August 6, the Ukrainian military launched a large-scale assault on the Kursk region in southern Russia, creating a new front in the conflict. (Murat Usubali/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“Russia has spent considerable resources to build fortifications along the international border zone,” Barros noted, “but has not allocated the manpower and [matériel] to significantly staff and defend those fortifications.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Ukraine has claimed roughly 400 square miles of Russian territory since launching the operation on August 6.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
