Mikhail Podoliak
© Emin Sansar / Getty ImagesMikhail Podoliak
Kiev launched its cross-border incursion into Kursk Region in an attempt to instill fear among the Russian population, a senior aide to Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has said.

Ukrainian forces began an offensive in the Russian region earlier this week, allocating troops for the operation despite being pushed back elsewhere on the front line. Kiev's objectives include placing Russians under psychological pressure in a bid to erode support for their government, Mikhail Podoliak stated in a television interview on Thursday.

"Today they have a war that is expanding deeper inside the Russian Federation. Will they fear that? Yes," he claimed. "Do they respond to anything but fear? No, and everyone should realize that at last."

Russian officials have described the Ukrainian attack as terrorist in nature, citing apparent deliberate attacks on civilian targets. A Ukrainian kamikaze drone hit an ambulance in Kursk Region on Tuesday, killing its driver and a paramedic and injuring a doctor, Governor Andrey Smirnov said.

Podoliak claimed that Kiev's ultimate goal of terrorizing Russians was aimed at securing a stronger position during eventual peace talks with Moscow. Zelensky himself made similar remarks in a video statement on Thursday.

"The more pressure is applied to Russia... the closer peace will be - a just peace through just force," he said, thanking Ukrainian troops for their actions.

Zelensky claims that a "just" end to the conflict can only be reached through his own peace formula, which includes Kiev asserting control over all the land it claims under its sovereignty, as well as war reparations and a tribunal for senior Russian officials. Moscow has rejected the idea as detached from reality and unworthy of consideration.

The Ukrainian leader has claimed on several recent occasions that Russia could be invited to a summit later this year, where it would supposedly be pressured by the international community into accepting Kiev's terms. A Swiss-hosted "peace summit" in June - to which Moscow wasn't invited - was widely perceived as a failure for Ukrainian diplomacy, considering the underwhelming content of its final communique.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry's latest update on the border clashes in Kursk Region, Ukraine has lost 660 troops and 82 pieces of heavy weaponry since the start of the offensive. More than half of the casualties were inflicted by Russian forces over the previous 24 hours, the assessment claimed.