'We have to kick the enemy out': Putin makes his first remarks on Ukraine's Kursk invasion

In his first remarks after Ukraine’s incursion in Kursk, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasised the need to “kick the enemy” out of Russian territory. The remarks from the Russian leader came while he convened a meeting of officials regarding the situation in the border region, BBC reported.

The meeting came hours after the Kremlin issued a fresh evacuation order in more bordering areas. For days Russian troops have been struggling to repel the Ukrainian soldiers who have entered the Kursk region and targeted the country’s several critical infrastructures. The recent attack is touted as the biggest infiltration operation conducted by Ukraine since the start of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war in February 2022.

“The defence ministry’s main task is to push, to kick the enemy out of our territory,” the Russian president reportedly told the military officials in the Monday meeting. He also emphasised that Ukraine’s motivation for the recent offensive is to improve its negotiation position. Interestingly, several Ukrainian officials have reflected the same opinion.

Russia orders fresh evacuation

Shortly before Putin made these remarks, Russian authorities on Monday evacuated thousands of civilians from more areas along the Ukrainian border. As of now, over 70,000 people had to leave their homes due to the ongoing clashes between the Ukrainian and Russian authorities.

Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of the Belgorod region in southern Russia, said people living in the Krasnoyaruzhsky district were being relocated to safer places, CNN reported. This came after the Russian Defence Ministry announced that the Ukrainian troops were now 30 km inside Russia.

“We’re having a disturbing morning – enemy activities on the border of Krasnoyaruzhsky district. I am sure that our military will do everything to cope with this threat. But to protect the life and health of our people, we are beginning to relocate people who live in the Krasnoyaruzhsky district to safer places,” the Russian governor said in a statement in Telegram.

In accordance with the recent orders, over 11,000 residents from the Krasnoyaruzhsky district were evacuated, the head of the district administration Adrei Miskov said later. The Ukrainian incursion which started on Tuesday has now expanded to two Russian regions and is seen as a game-changer in the ongoing conflict.

While the extent of the operation is still unclear, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that they are conducting the operation to bring “justice” to the ongoing war.

In his nightly video address, Zelenskyy vowed to restore justice for Russia’s invasion. The president mentioned that he had discussed the operation with top Ukrainian military officer Oleksandr Syrskyi. “Today, I received several reports from commander-in-chief Syrskyi regarding the front lines and our actions to push the war onto the aggressor’s territory,” the Ukrainian leader averred.

“Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor,” he added. Zelenskyy’s acknowledgement came hours after Russia said it had used a thermobaric bomb against Ukrainian forces and announced a “counter-terrorism” operation to retaliate.