Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said explicitly for the first time that there are Ukrainian troops in Russia's Belgorod region, which he said are there to protect Ukrainian border towns, Reuters reported.
In his evening video address, Zelensky said that the commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksandr Syrsky, had presented a report “on the front line, our presence in the Kursk region and our presence in the Belgorod region“.
“We continue active operations in the enemy's border areas, and this is fully justified. The war must return to where it came from. Our main goal remains the same – to protect our land and our communities in Sumy and Kharkiv regions from Russian occupiers," the Ukrainian president said.
Earlier today, Ukraine requested an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council tomorrow over the Russian attack on Krivoy Rog last week, which killed 20 civilians, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said, as quoted by Reuters.
"It is crucial to have a strong international response to Russian atrocities. This terror must never become normal. We call for both resolute condemnation and decisive action against it," Sybiga said on the social network "Ex".