Ukraine war: Aim of Kursk offensive is to destabilise situation in Russia, says Kyiv

A Ukrainian security official said on Sunday (Aug 11) that the aim of the military's offensive in Russia's Kursk region was to stabilise the situation in Russia. Speaking to the news agency AFP, the official said, "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."

Last Tuesday, Ukrainian forcespierced deep into theKurskborder region. The assaultappeared to catch the Kremlin off guard, with the Russian Army rushing in reserve troops, tanks, aviation, artillery and drones in a bid to quash it.

This was Ukraine's largest incursioninto Russian territory since the start of the war in February 2022, leavingsouthwestern parts of Russia vulnerable before reinforcement started arriving. Kyiv launched this operation from the Sumy region.

Russian authorities rushed to evacuate thousands of residents in Kursk and announced a local state of emergency in the region.

Zelensky acknowledges offensive

Ukraine had been tightlipped about the operation until President Volodymyr Zelensky acknowledged that his country's forces were fighting in Kursk. In his nightly video address on Saturday, President Zelensky saidthat the operationwas part of Kyiv's drive to restore justice following the Russian invasion.

Zelensky added he had discussed the operation with top Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Meanwhile, the Sumy region also came underretaliatory fire, and authorities there planned to evacuate some 20,000 people from the border zone.

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Zelensky said on SundayRussia had launched nearly 2,000 cross-border strikes on Sumy from Kursk and that such strikes deserved a Ukrainian response.

"Artillery, mortars, drones. We also record missile strikes, and each such strike deserves a fair response," the Ukrainian leader said.

Fire breaks out at nuclear plant

In the latest news from the ongoing war, a fire broke out at the now-occupied Zaporizhzhianuclear power plant in Ukraine, with both countries reporting no sign of elevated radiation.

The United Nations (UN)International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that its experts sawstrong, dark smoke coming from the northern area of the plant following multiple explosions.

It was not yet known what led to the fire. A report by the news agency Reuters said that Zelenskyaccused Russia of lighting the fire which he said was visible from the Kyiv-held city of Nikopol, which looks out onto the Russian-held plant.

Meanwhile,a Russian-installed official in the occupied south of Ukraine accused Kyiv's forces of causing the fire by shelling the nearby city of Enerhodar.

(With inputs from agencies)