Zelensky: The operation in Kurshchyna is a “preemptive strike” to avoid the encirclement of Sumyshchyna

President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that the offensive of Ukrainian troops on Russiaʼs Kursk region was a "preemptive strike" — it prevented the encirclement of part of the Sumy region and prevented the occupation of Sumy.

The president said this during a conversation with journalists, UNIAN reports.

According to Zelenskyi, the operation in Kurshchyna is difficult, but it has already completed several tasks and is proceeding according to plan. Ukrainian troops replenish the exchange fund by capturing Russian soldiers. The offensive also disrupted the operation of the Russian Federation in the north.

The president denied that the purpose of the offensive was to "play cards" for dialogue with Russia.

"We donʼt play any cards. We are very open with our partners. We said how diplomatically we are moving towards a just peace and the end of the war. And everyone was invited to the site of the [Ukrainian] peace formula, or the Peace Summit," Zelenskyy explained.

He also noted that there are more goals of the Kursk operation than those he mentioned earlier — some cannot be discussed publicly. Zelensky emphasized that one of the goals of this operation is to show the world who Putin is.

"I think they have already understood. To also show their society that for Putin, the occupation of the territory of Ukraine or the protection of its population is more expensive. And I am very glad that we have now shown in practice everything that I told my partners about," says Zelenskyi.

Kursk operation

For the first time, it became known about the offensive of the Defense Forces in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation on August 6 — then Russian telegram channels and "military corps" wrote about it.

Until August 12, Ukraine did not officially confirm the operation in the region, until the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrsky announced that Ukraine controls almost 1,000 km² of the Kursk region of Russia. The exact number of captured Russians is unknown, but Ukrainian high-ranking officials, including Syrskyi, stated that on certain days of the operation, hundreds of Russian soldiers surrendered.

For self-defense , the Ukrainian military formed a buffer zone on the territory of the Kursk region. Ukraine plans to open humanitarian corridors there for the evacuation of civilians, to admit representatives of the UN and the Red Cross, and to arrange the delivery of food and medicine. On August 15 , Ukraine created the first military command post in the Kursk region.

On August 20, Sirsky reported that 93 settlements in Kurshchyna are under the control of Ukraine. On August 22, he spoke about the transfer of one more item under the control of Ukraine.