U.S. bombs used in attacks on Russian soil

White House says Ukraine within limits in 'defensive' mission, as India's Modi makes visit to Kyiv

- HANNA ARHIROVA AND VANESSA GERA

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, embraces Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv on Friday - just a month after the Ukrainian president criticized him for visiting Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

Ukraine’s military says it used high-precision U.S. glide bombs to strike Russia’s Kursk region, and that is has recaptured some territory in the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv that has been under a Russian offensive since spring.

Ukraine’s Air Force Commander Lt. Gen. Mykola Oleschuk issued a video Thursday night purporting to show a Russian platoon base being hit in Kursk, where Ukrainian forces launched a surprise cross-border incursion on Aug. 6. He said the attack with GBU-39 bombs, which were supplied by the U.S., resulted in Russian casualties and the destruction of equipment. The video showed multiple explosions and plumes of smoke rising at the site.

Many of Ukraine’s backers oppose the country using donated weapons for anything but defensive purposes. However, Ukraine has argued that its Kursk incursion is essentially defensive and aimed at minimizing attacks on Ukrainian soil from that Russian region.