Zelensky on the Kursk operation: It gave Ukraine the results we were counting on

The offensive on the Kursk region as a whole met Ukraineʼs expectations. It was possible to stop the Russians in the Kharkiv region, and to slow down their advance in the Donetsk region, although the situation remains difficult.

This was stated by the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during the Yalta European Strategy.

In order to repel the Ukrainian offensive, Russia withdrew its troops from some areas of the front, in particular from Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv and other areas. The Russian Federation seeks to withdraw 60 000 to 70 000 troops to this region. Currently, according to the president, about 40 000 Russians are already there.

Although Russia has already started quick offensive actions in the Kursk direction, they have not had any serious success, says Zelensky.

"They wanted quick breakthroughs. As they say, de-occupation. It is nice that not only we, but also they are talking about the deoccupation of their territory. We do not see any serious successes yet," the president said.

The operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region affected the situation at the front in Ukraine — the Russians reduced the use of artillery, in particular in the Pokrovsk direction. Before the beginning of the Ukrainian offensive on the Kursk region, the ratio of the use of shells was 1 to 12 in favor of the Russians. Now that ratio is 1 to 2.5.

"We understand that we have not yet caught up, we need more than the Russians if we want to stop and regain our position. However, 1 to 12 is more difficult than 1 to 2.5. I consider it a success. The success of that part of the operation, which is called Kursk," Zelensky emphasized.

He noted that Ukraine launched the Kursk operation due to intelligence that Russia was preparing for an offensive and wanted to create buffer zones from the east to the north.

"For one or another military success, they wanted to capture the centers of these regions. This is what the Kursk operation gave. I think that maybe someone expected different results, but she gave the results that, frankly, we were counting on," Zelensky said.

The 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.

Ukraine officially confirmed the operation only on August 12. As of September 6, at least 1 300 km² and 100 settlements in this region were under Ukrainian control, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces captured more than 600 occupiers.

The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia had withdrawn approximately 60 000 of its troops from other areas of the front in Ukraine to the Kursk region.

For self-defense, the Ukrainian military formed a buffer zone on the territory of the Kursk region. On August 15, Ukraine created the first military command post there.