President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed in his late night address on Saturday that Ukraine’s military was now pushing the war onto “the aggressor’s territory” as attacks on the border region continued.

Moscow’s forces are in their sixth day of intense battles against Kyiv’s largest incursion into Russian territory since the start of the war. More than 76,000 people have been evacuated from the area.

In a sign of the gravity of the situation, Russia imposed a sweeping security regime in three border regions on Saturday, while Belarus, a staunch ally of Moscow, sent more troops to its border with Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky thanked Ukraine’s “warriors”, and said he had discussed the ongoing operation in Russia with the country’s top military commander – 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,” Mr Zelensky said. “Ukraine is proving that it can indeed restore justice and ensure the necessary pressure on the aggressor.”

Russian president Vladimir Putin cast the Ukrainian attack – which military analysts say caught the Kremlin off-guard – as a major provocation.

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