Vlodimir Zelenskyy has confirmed that Ukrainian forces are currently holding land in the Kursk region along its eastern border, as it extends its military incursion onto Russian soil.

Fighting is taking place 30 kilometers from the border with Russia in the town of Belgorod. Ukrainian drones have attacked buildings as far as Voronezh.

During his nightly video addresses over the weekend, Zelenskyy spoke about his country’s surprise military incursion publicly for the first time.

“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,” he said.

This is the first time foreign troops have been on Russian soil since the second world war.

According to reports, caught off guard by the mission, the Kremlin has evacuated 76,000 people in the region and Russian officials have rushed to limit the attack as Ukrainian forces advanced.

In response, Russia sent 57 drones towards Kyiv, 53 of which were shot down. Ballistic missiles were also used in the strike, killing two people and injuring a further three. Other strikes in Donetsk were reported where there have been 11 deaths and 37 injuries.

Meanwhile, Belarus has sent more troops near Ukraine’s northern border bolster security, claiming that its airspace had been violated by Ukrainian drones.

At a meeting in the nation’s east, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that air defence forces had shot down Ukrainian drones near the Russian border.

“But we have made ourselves clear and conveyed to them that any provocation will not go unanswered,” he said.

Photo: Anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine (War Ukraine) by Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is available HERE and is used under a Creative Commons Licence. This image has not been modified.