By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) – Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday that whatever Moscow brought to the country - the ongoing conflict - "has now returned to their home," as Ukraine celebrates Independence Day amid an incursion into Russia's Kursk region.
“913 days ago, Russia unleashed war against us, including through the Sumy region. It violated not only our sovereign borders but also the limits of cruelty and common sense. It was endlessly striving for one thing: to destroy us.
Instead, today we celebrate the 33rd Independence Day of Ukraine. And whatever the enemy was bringing to our land has now returned to their home,” Zelenskyy said in a video address from the border region of Sumy.
Arguing that Ukraine’s retaliation for the ongoing conflict will be “worthy, symmetrical, long-ranged,” Zelenskyy went on to say, “They will know that sooner or later, a Ukrainian response will reach any point in the Russian Federation that is a source of danger to the life of our state and our people.”
He also said Ukraine will not allow its territory to turn into a “grey zone,” adding that Russian President Vladimir Putin “will not dictate any of his red lines to us.”
Zelenskyy's comments come amid Kyiv's incursion into Russia's border region of Kursk, which began on the night of August 5-6 when Ukrainian forces entered the town of Sudzha, about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the border.
Putin accused Ukraine of carrying out a "large-scale provocation" and "indiscriminate shooting," describing the incursion as a "terrorist attack."
Days later, Zelenskyy admitted that it was an "operation" by Ukrainian troops aimed to create a "buffer zone" against Russian attacks.
Ukraine's Independence Day is celebrated annually on Aug. 24 and marks the day when the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic adopted the country's Declaration of Independence.