Ukrainian offensive targets Russia raises morale amid conflict

AFP reported on Sunday that thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are participating in an offensive aimed at destabilizing Russia. Sunday marked the sixth day of the unprecedented operation on Russian territory. On the same day, the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces published a cryptic post: "We continue the operation."

In a conversation with the agency, a representative of the Ukrainian authorities emphasized that the soldiers would adhere to international law, and Kyiv has no intention of annexing the occupied territories.

"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," the official explained.

AFP reports that according to the Russian army, about one thousand soldiers participated in the Ukrainian operation. When asked if these estimates were accurate, the Ukrainian representative replied: "There are many more... Thousands."

"This has greatly raised our morale, the morale of the Ukrainian army, state and society," the Ukrainian representative said. "This operation has shown that we can go on the offensive, move forward. He added that the Russians have difficulties with coordination and readiness to act," he added.

Asked about the possibility of seizing the Kursk Nuclear Power Plant, he replied, "We will see how the Kursk operation develops. We will certainly not cause problems for nuclear safety. That we can assure."

He also emphasized that suggestions that Western partners were unaware of the Ukrainian offensive are "a mistake." "Judging by how actively Western weaponry is being used, our partners in the West played an indirect role in the planning," he stated.

According to him, Russia "will eventually" be able to stop Ukrainian forces and respond with a large-scale missile attack targeting, among other things, "command centres" in Ukraine.

On Sunday afternoon, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi posted a cryptic message with a photo on his Telegram channel. "We continue the operation," he wrote briefly. Ukrainian media linked this post to the offensive in the Kursk region.

AFP emphasized that the Sumy region, near the border with the Russian Kursk region, is already being bombed more intensively. The Russians aim to hit Ukrainian groupings near the border that could be used in an attack on the Kursk region. At night, the Russian army also shelled Kyiv.

On Sunday afternoon, AFP reported "dozens" of armoured Ukrainian army vehicles observed by its reporters in the Sumy region. The machines are marked with a white triangle used by forces participating in the operation on Russian territory.