Ukrainian servicemen operate a Soviet-made T-72 tank in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, on Aug. 12, 2024, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Ukraine launched a surprise offensive into the Russian border region of Kursk on Aug. 6, 2024, capturing over two dozen towns and villages in the most significant cross-border attack on Russian soil since World War II. (Roman Pilipey, AFP, Getty Images via TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — Ukraine’s operation in Russia’s Kursk region is a part of a broader military, political and diplomatic effort aimed at making Russia accept a “fair peace,” said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“Everything we do is for the purpose of forcing Russia be ready for fair peace,” Zelenskyy told Indian journalists in Kyiv on Sunday, according to his Telegram.
Ukraine’s leader also discussed with the visiting media Ukraine’s planned second peace summit, his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, and Kyiv’s hoped-for integration into the European Union.
Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region this month. On Saturday, Zelenskyy said the move was done to protect the northeastern Sumy region and to capture Russian soldiers who could be used for prisoner-of-war swaps.
Putin on Saturday night received reports from at least five commanders involved in combat missions in Russian territories bordering Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Sunday.
Ukrainian forces claim to have control of more than 1,250 square kilometers (483 square miles) of territory in the first foreign military offensive inside Russia since World War II.
In an operational update, Russia’s defense ministry said its troops continue to repel Ukrainian efforts in several settlements in the Kursk region, from which thousands of residents have fled in recent weeks.
“Reconnaissance and search operations continue to identify and destroy enemy sabotage groups in forested areas that were attempting to penetrate deep into Russian territory,” the ministry said.
The Kremlin on Saturday released video of Putin meeting with Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff. It was unclear when the meeting took place.
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