Kursk operation showed: It is more important for Putin to hold foreign territories than to protect his own - Zelensky
President Volodymyr Zelensky said this during a joint press conference with President of Poland Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister of Lithuania Ingrid Šimonyte, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.
“A very important conclusion that the world can draw in the end, and this is one of the goals of this operation, is to show the reality of who Putin is, and those states that did not understand why he came to occupy the territory of our state, I think, have already understood. And to show what is more precious to him - the occupation of the territory of Ukraine or the protection of his population. I am very glad that everything I told our partners we have shown in practice. He [Putin] is still thinking about how to keep the occupied territories and does not think about how to protect his people. He is now bombing his villages,” Zelensky said.
Speaking about the purpose of the operation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Kursk region, the head of state noted that not all goals can be discussed publicly yet.
“First of all, I am very positive about the operation in this direction. The operation is complex. It is important that it is going according to our plan. There are several results of this operation, but I can't talk about them all. First of all, the exchange fund is something we can talk about openly. It is being replenished - this is a positive thing. The second is the stoppage of the Russian operation in the north, a preventive strike, and our operation fulfilled this task. We prevented the encirclement of a part of Sumy region and the desire [of the enemy] to occupy the capital of the region, the city of Sumy,” the President said.
He also noted that Ukraine was not playing any cards for a dialogue with the aggressor with this operation.
“Someone says about the buffer zone that we will play it as a card for dialogue. What dialog? I'll tell you who says that - it's Putin. We are not playing any cards. We are very open with our partners. We talked about how we are diplomatically moving towards a just peace and the end of the war and invited everyone to the Peace Formula platform,” Zelensky emphasized.
As Ukrinform reported, the offensive operation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation began on August 6, 2024. On August 15, it was announced that a military commandant's office had been established in the controlled territories of the Kursk region, and Major General Eduard Moskalev was appointed its head.
Zelensky had earlier said that Ukraine's operation in Kursk region was helping to destroy the Russian army's logistics and deplete their reserves.
Photo: OP
