President Volodymyr Zelensky may propose exchanging the territories of the Kursk region of the Russian Federation controlled by Kyiv for the occupied territories of Ukraine.
Zelensky stated this in an interview with The Guardian.
Zelensky does not know which territories Ukraine will try to return first. However, he assured that "all our territories are important, there is no priority here".
According to him, such a proposal is possible if the US manages to force Russia to agree to negotiations to end the war. Zelensky is ready for negotiations, but wants Ukraine to be able to act in them from a "position of strength".
Ukraineʼs position in Russiaʼs Kursk region is critical to any future negotiations. Zelensky previously said that the Kursk operation would be an important part of the negotiation process to end the war.
Kursk operation
The Kursk operation began on August 6, 2024 — Russian Telegram channels and "military circles" first wrote about it.
Ukraine officially confirmed the operation only on August 12. Ukraine controlled over 1 000 km² and 100 settlements in the region. However, according to Western analysts and media, Russia has now regained a number of captured territories.
In October, it became known that the first soldiers from the DPRK had arrived in Kursk. It was about 12 thousand soldiers, including 500 officers and three generals.
The General Staff reported on February 6 that during the operation, the enemyʼs total losses amounted to almost 40 thousand people, of which more than 16 thousand were killed.
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