Kyiv wants to create a buffer zone on Russian territory

The Ukrainian government said Wednesday that Kyiv’s invasion of Russia’s Kursk region is aimed at creating a buffer zone to protect border populations from Russia’s constant attacks.

The Kiev government has for the first time openly stated the aims of the invasion, which represents an unexpected turn in the conflict by handing the initiative on the battlefield to Ukrainian troops. According to Kyiv, humanitarian corridors are being organized to evacuate civilians from the conflict zone and deliver food and medicine, which is a sign of careful preparation for the operation.

Ukrainian forces continue to advance into Russian territory, President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday, moving “one or two kilometers in different directions” since yesterday and taking more than 100 prisoners. Since the incursion began last Tuesday, Ukrainian forces say they have seized more than 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory, which, if confirmed, would be more than Russian forces have advanced in Ukraine in the past year.

President Putin has vowed to crush the incursion and sent thousands of reinforcements to the region, where a state of emergency has been declared, but so far Russian troops have been unable to stop the enemy advance. Russian lawmaker Maria Butina, a Putin ally, said Wednesday that Kyiv’s allies were behind the incursion and accused the West of “provoking the bear.”

BASIC SABOTAGE
A military base on the outskirts of Cologne, Germany, has been sealed off on suspicion of “sabotage” over alleged contamination of the water supply. The alarm has led to increased security at the NATO base in Geilenkirchen.

SUSPECT WANTED
Germany asked Poland to detain a Ukrainian citizen involved in the Nord Stream gas pipeline explosion, but he has already left the country. The suspect will be part of the diving team that carried out the attack.