President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had launched an incursion into Russian territory to ¡°restore justice¡± and pressure Moscow¡¯s forces, in his first acknowledgement of Kyiv¡¯s surprise offensive into the western Kursk region.

Moscow¡¯s forces on Sunday were in their sixth day of intense battle against Kyiv¡¯s largest incursion into Russian territory since the start of the war, which left southwestern parts of Russia vulnerable before reinforcements started arriving.

Russian authorities rushed to evacuate residents and imposed a sweeping security regime in three border regions on Saturday, after the attack that military analysts say caught the Kremlin off-guard.