Ukraine has no intention to capture Kursk region, only seeking to protect own people from attacks - MFA

That’s according to MFA spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi, who spoke at a briefing on Tuesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

The spokesman noted that at the latest Staff meeting chaired by President Volodymyr Zelensky, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said the Armed Forces had gained control of about 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory.

"I’d like to emphasize that, unlike Russia, Ukraine doesn’t need something that belongs to someone else. Ukraine has no interest in taking over the territory of Kursk region, but we do want to protect the lives of our people," Tykhyi said.

In this context, he recalled that, since early summer, Russia has launched over 2,000 strikes precisely from Kursk region, targeting the Ukrainian region of Sumy: "It's MLRS, barrel artillery, drones, 250 glide bombs, over a hundred missiles."

"Unfortunately, Ukraine has no sufficient capabilities to launch long-range strikes with the available weapons to protect itself from this terror – there are no suitable solutions yet, which we insist on. So there is a need to liberate these border areas from Russian troops attacking Ukraine or providing cover for terror against Ukrainians. We will continue to do so the way it is deemed necessary for ensuring security and protecting Ukraine," said the spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Also, he emphasized that the military raid in Kursk region helps other sectors of the frontline, holding Russia from deploying more units to Donetsk region and complicating their military logistics.

"On a separate note, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are a civilized European military force that fully complies with the laws and customs of warfare and international humanitarian law. The targets of Ukraine’s Defense Forces are exclusively military forces and military contingents. The purpose of the operation is to preserve the lives of our people and protect Ukraine’s territory from Russian strikes", Tykhyi stressed.

The spokesman cited President Zelensky’s statement that Russia had brought this war to the territory of Ukraine and it is quite fair that the war is now returning to Russia’s soil.

"The sooner Russia agrees to restoring a just peace, in particular based on the Peace Formula, which leads to this peace, the sooner the raids of Ukraine’s Defense Forces on Russian territory will stop. And as long as Putin proceeds with his war effort, he will receive from Ukraine the response that Ukraine requires. These are absolutely legitimate actions on the part of Ukraine, in particular, within the framework of the implementation of its right to self-defense in accordance with the UN Charter," he underlined.

According to Tykhyi, there is already evidence that Moscow is really concerned that the Ukrainian raid is progressing without violations of international humanitarian law, which they would very much like to exploit in their propaganda. Therefore, we have well-founded suspicions and fears that Russia may try to fabricate such incidents, including those involving Russian soldiers sporting Ukrainian uniform, he noted.

"We actively appeal to our partners to be ready for such developments and, should there be such attempts on the part of Russia, to remain vigilant and not fall for these traps set up by Russian propaganda,"  the spokesman concluded.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine’s Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi said Ukraine’s Army pursues its offensive operation on the territory of Russia’s Kursk Region. Currently, the Armed Forces control nearly 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory.

In its report, the Institute for the Study of War think tank noted that the raid had allowed Ukrainian troops to at least temporarily seize battlefield initiative in one area of ​​the front and contest Russia’s overall initiative throughout the war theater.