THOUSANDS OF UKRAINIAN troops are taking part in an incursion across the border into the Kursk region aiming to “stretch” and “destabilise” Russia.

“We are on the offensive. The aim is to stretch the positions of the enemy, to inflict maximum losses and to destabilise the situation in Russia as they are unable to protect their own border,” a senior Ukrainian security official has told the AFP news agency, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The Russian army earlier said Ukraine had deployed around 1,000 soldiers in the incursion which began on Tuesday, appearing to catch the Kremlin off guard, as Ukrainian forces penetrated Russian defensive lines.

Asked whether 1,000 Ukrainian troops were taking part in the assault, the Ukrainian official said: “It is a lot more… thousands”.

After days of official silence from the Ukrainian authorities, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy acknowledged the operation for the first time in his nightly address yesterday, saying that Kyiv was “pushing the war into the aggressor’s territory”.

Ukraine will “strictly observe humanitarian law” during its incursion and does not plan to annex any territory, a senior Ukrainian security official told AFP.

“It is very important that Ukraine does not violate any convention. We strictly observe humanitarian law: we do not execute prisoners, we do not rape women, we do not loot,” the official said on condition of anonymity, contrasting this position with multiple alleged violations by Russian troops.

The operation has “greatly raised” morale in the country, the official said.

“This has greatly raised our morale, the morale of the Ukrainian army, state and society,” the official said on condition of anonymity, adding: “This operation has shown that we can go on the offensive, move forward.”

The incursion has not weakened Russia’s offensive in eastern Ukraine even though the intensity of attacks has gone down slightly, the official told AFP.

“The situation is basically unchanged. Their pressure in the east continues, they are not pulling back troops from the area” but “the intensity of Russian attacks has gone down a little bit,” the senior official said on condition of anonymity.

Today, Russia’s army appeared to acknowledge that Ukrainian units had driven deep into the country, saying it had hit troops and equipment around 30 kilometres from the border.

The defence ministry in Moscow said today that its troops had “foiled attempts by enemy mobile groups with armoured vehicles to break through deep into Russian territory.”

But in an apparent sign of how far some Ukrainian units have managed to advance, it said it had hit enemy units near the villages of Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez, which are around 25 km and 30 km from the Russia-Ukraine border.

Ukrainian authorities in the Sumy region have also announced plans to evacuate some 20,000 people close to the Russian border, which has come under fire in response.

At an evacuation centre in the regional capital of Sumy, retired metal worker Mykola, who had fled his village of Khotyn some 26 kilometres (16 miles) from the Russian border, said the offensive had given him a morale boost.

“Let’s let them find out what it’s like. They don’t understand what war is. Let them have a taste of it,” the 70-year-old told AFP, despite being forced to leave his home.

Attack on Kyiv

Outside of the eastern region, a Russian drone and missile barrage on Kyiv killed two people – a man and his four-year-old son – last night. 

Russia attacked Ukraine with four ballistic missiles and 57 Shahed drones, Ukraine’s Air Force said. Air defences shot down 53 drones.

The bodies of a 35-year old man and his young son were found under rubble after fragments of missiles fell on a residential area in Kyiv’s suburban Brovary district, according to Ukraine’s State Emergency Service on Sunday.

Another three people in the area were injured in the attack.

Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, said it was the second time this month that Kyiv has been targeted.

He said ballistic missiles did not reach the city centre but suburbs took the hit, while drones aiming for the capital were shot down.

With reporting from AFP and Press Association