Kyiv seizes Kursk region: Zelensky's strategic leverage revealed

Kyiv plans to indefinitely maintain control over Russian territories it seized during the offensive in the Kursk region, revealed Volodymyr Zelensky in an interview with NBC News. He stated that these territories are a "bargaining chip" to force Vladimir Putin into negotiations.

In a conversation with NBC News, the Ukrainian president admitted that the occupied Russian territories are only a means to force Russia into negotiations and end the war. - We do not need their land. We do not want to transplant our Ukrainian way of life there, assured Volodymyr Zelensky.

He added that Ukraine will "maintain" this territory because it is integral to his "victory plan." He also admitted that he would present this plan to international partners, including the United States.

When asked about Ukraine's plans to conquer additional Russian territories, Zelensky said he could not disclose them. "With all due respect, I can't talk about it. I think that any success is very much dependent on the unexpected," he added.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine began an offensive operation in the Kursk region on 6 August. Kyiv reported an increase in the area controlled by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region. According to Oleksandr Syrskyi, the area occupied by the Ukrainian armed forces has expanded to 1,264 square kilometres, with 100 localities within it.

So far, Ukrainian forces around Kursk have taken 594 Russian soldiers captive.

The Ukrainian army entered with little resistance because the Russians did not consider the possibility of invasion. The warning signal for the Kremlin was not even the spring raids conducted in this area by forces fighting on Ukraine's side: the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), the Siberia Battalion, and the "Freedom of Russia" Legion.