Official says Kyiv is seeking to ‘stretch the enemy’ and western partners were ‘indirectly’ involved

Thousands of Ukrainian troops are taking part in an incursion aiming to destabilise Russia by showing up the country’s weaknesses, a top official from Ukraine has said as the assault entered its sixth day.

“We are on the offensive. The aim is to stretch the positions of the enemy, to inflict maximum losses and to destabilise the situation in Russia as they are unable to protect their own border,” the security official said on condition of anonymity.

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After days of official silence, Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, acknowledged the offensive for the first time on Saturday, saying that Kyiv was “pushing the war into the aggressor’s territory”.