Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Tuesday that Kiev intends to indefinitely hold on to Russian territory it seized in last month's surprise invasion.
“We don't need their land. We don't want to bring the Ukrainian way of life there.” he told NBC News. In a translated interview.
The Ukrainian leader said:[ing]The region is crucial to his “plan for victory” to end the war that has been raging for more than two and a half years since Russia invaded Ukraine, according to a translation by NBC News.
It has been almost a month since Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack on the Kursk region in western Russia on August 6. Since then, an estimated 180,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk region and Ukraine has occupied approximately 450 square miles of Russian territory, marking the first violation of Ukrainian sovereignty since World War II.
More than 100 Russian soldiers were taken prisoner, some of whom were later exchanged for Russian and Ukrainian prisoners, according to the Associated Press.
Zelenskiy told NBC News that the August 6 operation was a “preemptive strike” to stop Russian forces from establishing a buffer zone along the Ukrainian border, but he declined to say whether Ukraine had plans to seize more Russian territory.
“I'm sorry, I can't talk about it,” he told NBC. “I'm sorry, I can't talk about it. I think the success has been almost surprising.”
The incursion has forced Russian forces to move forces from parts of eastern Ukraine to the Kursk region, according to Ukrainian military commander Gen. Oleksandr Shirsky, who claimed an estimated 30,000 Russian troops have been moved to the Kursk region, though The Hill has not been able to independently verify that figure.
Zelensky said last week that he plans to eventually present a peace plan to President Biden, current presidential candidate Vice President Harris and former President Trump. He said the plan is in four phases, the first of which would be an invasion of the Kursk region.
Zelensky said he plans to meet with Biden at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this month and announce his plan, adding that he also plans to share it with Harris and Trump, given the uncertainty over who will win the 2024 election.
He told NBC his proposal also includes Russia holding on to the territories it has seized, saying “for now, that's what's needed.”
The Ukrainian president revealed that the Biden administration was not informed of Kiev's plans to cross into Russia, noting that it was not a “question of lack of trust” but rather to avoid giving Russia time to prepare.
“I managed to extremely narrow the circle of people who knew about this operation,” Zelensky added. “I think that's one of the reasons why it was successful.”
While Kiev advances in the Kursk region, the Russian offensive continues, with Moscow's forces advancing in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine, closing in on Pokrovsk, a key logistical hub for Ukraine's defense.
President Zelenskiy said on Tuesday that Russian attacks had killed 41 people in the central Ukrainian region and wounded more than 180. Other areas across Ukraine were also targeted in the attacks.
There was no immediate comment from Moscow about the attack.
