Zelenskyy appears to confirm cross-border operation into Russia
A look back at 8 August 2024, when Ukraine's president appeared to acknowledge ordering a major incursion into Russian territory.
What did Kyiv say about its operation inside Russia on 8 August 2024? Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared to confirm that he had ordered a major cross-border operation, part of what became known as the 2024 Kursk offensive.
His remarks were reported at the time as saying that Russia had brought war to Ukraine's land, and that it should feel what it had done. The wording appeared to acknowledge Ukrainian responsibility for the operation on Russian territory.
Aircraft arrive days earlier
The statement followed another announcement by Zelenskyy a few days before. On 4 August 2024, he said Ukraine had received its first F-16 fighter aircraft from NATO allies.
Taken together, the two announcements, made within days of each other, marked a notable stretch in Ukraine's war effort: the president publicly pointing to new Western-supplied aircraft and then appearing to confirm an operation carried out inside Russia.
