Zelensky wants Russia to ‘feel’ the war as Ukraine presses cross-border attack

Ukraine strikes Russian airbase with drones as a major incursion into the Kursk region stretched into its fourth day

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A satellite image shows damage at the Sudzha border crossing in Russia’s Kursk region on Tuesday. Image: Planet Labs Inc via Reuters

Published: 2:45am, 9 Aug 2024Updated: 5:40pm, 9 Aug 2024

Ukraine pressed on with a major cross-border incursion into Russia on Friday, also launching a significant air attack on a Russian airfield hundreds of kilometres behind the front lines.

The Ukrainian offensive into Russia’s western Kursk region, launched on Tuesday, appears to be the most significant attack on Russian soil since Moscow invaded in February 2022.

Russia says around 1,000 Ukrainian troops and more than two dozen armoured vehicles and tanks were involved in the initial attack, though it has since claimed to have destroyed many more pieces of hardware.

Kyiv has not officially taken responsibility for the operation, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his evening address on Thursday that Russia needed to “feel” the consequences of its invasion.

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a video conference meeting with Kursk Region Acting Governor Alexei Smirnov. Photo: Sputnik via EPA-EFE

Ukraine said on Friday it had carried out a massive air strike on a Russian military base in the Lipetsk region, around 280km (175 miles) from the Russia-Ukraine border.