Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday Kyiv's cross-border operation into Russia was aimed at protecting Ukrainian land from long-range strikes launched from Kursk.<br /><br />“Ukraine is not interested in taking the territory of the Kursk region, but we want to protect the lives of our people,” foreign ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi told reporters.<br /><br />He said that Russia had launched more than 2,000 strikes from the Kursk region in recent months using anti-aircraft missiles, barrel artillery, mortars, drones, 255 glide bombs, and more than 100 missiles.<br /><br />Ukraine’s Western partners have said the country has the right to defend itself, including by attacking across the border.
