At a press conference on Tuesday, Zelenskyj said that the war will ultimately end at the negotiating table, and that Ukraine therefore needs a strong negotiating position.
The aim of the Kursk invasion is to force Russia to end the war, he stated.
Here he also said that for the first time Ukraine has tested a self-produced ballistic missile, and that the test was successful.
Ukraine has the capacity to produce 1.5 million to 2 million drones this year, according to Zelenskyj, who at the same time had to state that Ukraine currently lacks the funding to carry out the plan.
– Has covered almost 1,300 square kilometres
Three weeks ago, Ukrainian soldiers crossed the Russian border and entered the Kursk region. On Tuesday, Ukraine claimed to have taken control of an almost 1,300 square kilometer area. According to Ukraine, there are 100 settlements in the occupied area.
The president explained that with the invasion of Kursk he also wants to show the Russian people that Putin cares more about conquering a city he has never heard of than protecting his own territory.
Again, he emphasized that Ukraine is not willing to trade away any parts of the country’s territory.
– Dialogue with Putin at the present time would be pointless. He does not want a diplomatic end to the war. He “diplomatically” wants us to give him 30 percent of our country, Zelenskyj said.
In September, however, he hopes to be able to attend the UN General Assembly in New York and at the same time present Ukraine’s multi-step plan towards peace to US President Joe Biden. He wants to present the same plan to the two presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.
Nuclear inspection
Russian President Vladimir Putin has accused Ukraine of attempting to attack a nuclear power plant in Kursk, which Ukraine strongly denies.
On Tuesday, the head of the International Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, visited to inspect the power plant. Here he said that the situation is serious, and that there is a danger of a nuclear episode.
– The nuclear power plant is vulnerable, he stressed, as the plant lacks a protective building around it.
But he believes it is an exaggeration to compare the situation in Kursk with Chernobyl.
Almost 600 prisoners
Ukraine’s defense chief Oleksandr Syrskyj claimed on Tuesday that 594 Russian soldiers have been taken as prisoners of war in Kursk. The information has not been confirmed from other sources.
On Tuesday afternoon, there were unconfirmed reports that Ukrainian soldiers tried to cross the border into yet another Russian region – Belgorod.
The Russian governor in the region has confirmed the information.
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2024-08-28 16:55:12
