Ukraine advances into Russia and the war scenarios change. Moscow admits that Kiev troops penetrated up to 30 km inside the country, in what has become the deepest and most significant incursion since Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces had engaged Ukrainian troops near the villages of Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez, as the offensive in the Kursk region has continued for days.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Kiev of “intimidating the peaceful Russian population.” Last night, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged the attack for the first time, saying Ukraine was pushing the war “into the territory of the aggressor.”
Moscow: “Harsh response will not be long in coming”
Moscow’s “tough response” to Ukrainian incursions into Russian territory “will not be long in coming,” Zakharova warned in a statement. Ukraine, she added, “fully understands” that the recent attacks “make no sense from a military point of view.”
Zelensky: “Partners should lift restrictions on our defensive actions”
Zelensky again urged Ukraine’s partners “to take strong decisions to lift restrictions on our defensive actions.” In a post on X about last night’s Russian missile attack in Kiev, which killed a father and his 4-year-old son, the president wrote: “Ukrainians are deeply grateful to all our partners who provide us with air defense systems and fighter jets. However, to truly stop Russian terror, we need not only a comprehensive air shield that can protect all our cities and communities, but also strong decisions from our partners, decisions that will lift restrictions on our defensive actions.” “When Ukraine’s long-range capabilities have no limits, this war will definitely have a limit: we will really be close to a more just end,” Zelensky stressed.
Fire in Zaporizhzhia
In the evening the Ukrainian president announced that “Russian occupiers set fire on the territory of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant“. “Radiation levels – he explained – are currently normal, but as long as Russian terrorists maintain control of the nuclear power plant, the situation is not and cannot be normal. From the first day of the seizure of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, Russia has been using it exclusively to blackmail Ukraine, the whole of Europe and the world. We are waiting for the world’s reaction, we are waiting for the IAEA’s reaction. Russia must be held responsible for all of this. Only Ukrainian control over the Zaporizhzhia plant can guarantee a return to normality and full safety”, he concluded.
But while Kiev blames Moscow, Russia points the finger at Ukraine, claiming that the fire at the nuclear power plant broke out after an attack by the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Energodar. The governor of the Zaporizhzhya region Yevhen Balitsky, according to Tass, said that “the cooling systems of the plant caught fire due to the attack by the AFU,” the Ukrainian Armed Forces, “all six reactors are in a cold shutdown state, there is no threat of an explosion. The radiation level around the nuclear power plant and the city of Energodar remains normal.”
The IAEA said in a social media post that experts from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “observed heavy dark smoke coming from the northern area of the Zaporizhzhia plant following multiple explosions heard in the evening. The team was informed by the ZNPP of an alleged drone strike on one of the cooling towers located at the site. No impact on nuclear safety was reported.”
Belarus-Ukraine exchange of blows
Meanwhile, there is a back-and-forth between Ukraine and Belarus. The Defense Ministry in Minsk reported that Belarusian mechanized units are moving toward the border with Ukraine, adding that “units of one of the mechanized formations are ready to carry out the planned tasks.” “Military personnel are loading military equipment onto trains and are starting to move to the designated areas,” the Defense Ministry added. On Saturday, Belarus had reported violations of airspace by drones launched from Ukraine.
But Kiev has not detected additional Belarusian troops deployed on the border, despite Minsk’s claims that it wants to strengthen border control, the spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, Andrii Demchenko, said.
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