Apr 8 — President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy officially confirmed the presence of Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Belgorod region for the first time. 

“This is necessary to protect the communities of Kharkiv and Sumy regions from the Russian offensive,” said Zelenskyy in his evening address on April 7.

In March, Zelenskyy told the French newspaper Le Figaro that Russia was preparing a new spring offensive in the Kharkiv and Sumy axes.

Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian troops continue to conduct active operations in the border areas in Russia. According to him, the main goal of these operations is to protect Ukrainian lands.

“Today, the Commander-in-Chief, Oleksandr Syrskyi, reported about our presence in the Kursk and Belgorod regions. We continue to lead active operations in border regions on Russian territory, and it is absolutely fair — the war must return to where it came from,” the President said.

Zelenskyy commented on Russian war correspondents’ statements about Ukrainian forces’ operations in the Belgorod region, “As long as Russian troops are on Ukrainian territory, we must do everything to prevent Putin’s steps to grab new areas.” 

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