MOSCOW

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alluded Thursday to Ukraine's offensive into Russia's Kursk region for the first time since it was launched three days ago.

“Russia brought the war to our land and should feel what it has done,” Zelenskyy said in a statement on Telegram.

"I am grateful to each warrior, each soldier and commander who ensures the defense of our Ukrainian positions and the fulfillment of our defensive tasks. Ukrainians know how to achieve their goals," he added.

On the night of Aug. 5-6, Ukraine intensified its shelling of the Kursk region. The artillery attack was followed by the incursion of Ukraine's infantry, supported by tanks and armored vehicles, near the city of Sudzha.

Initially, the Russian Defense Ministry reported Tuesday that 300 Ukrainian troops, 11 tanks and 20 armored vehicles crossed the Russian border. But on Wednesday, the chief of the Russian General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, claimed that a group of around 1,000 servicemen was taking part in the battle from Ukraine's side.

Experts said the possible goals of the assault include the destruction of the Sudzha gas station through which Russia pumps gas to Europe, an attempt to divert the attention of the Russian command from Donbass, the destruction of the railway through which Russia supplies its forces in Ukraine's Kharkiv region and strengthening the moral of the Ukrainian army.

Russian authorities also fear for the fate of the Kursk nuclear power plant, located in the vicinity of the fighting, and its security was strengthened, according to the Russian Guard Corps.

Kursk regional authorities said five civilians were killed in Ukraine’s attack, including a paramedic, an ambulance driver and a 24-year-old pregnant woman, and 66 were injured, including six children. They called for a major evacuation from the area of combat activities.

Russian war correspondent Evgeny Poddubny was initially announced as killed while covering the fighting, but later reports revealed he was alive although severely injured.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Ukraine's actions a "major provocation" and an "indiscriminate attack with a variety of weapons, including missiles, against civilian facilities, residential buildings and ambulance vehicles."

Ukraine has not claimed responsibility. However, several high-ranking officials indirectly confirmed Kyiv’s involvement.