Ukraine\u2019s Kursk incursion was a preemptive strike to prevent Russia from creating a buffer zone in the north, Zelenskyi said in an interview with NBC News. He explained that Ukraine doesn\u2019t need Russian land, and the Kursk incursion aims to restore the country\u2019s territorial integrity. The Kursk operation is part of Ukraine\u2019s victory plan, he also said. Ukraine\u2019s parliament endorses a new foreign minister.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine received reports from its domestic intelligence and allies\u2019 intelligence services that Russia was looking to set up a buffer zone in the border area, possibly in Ukraine\u2019s Sumy and Chernihiv regions. A lack of long-range weapons and absence of authorization to use them on targets inside Russia made Ukraine think of an alternative to prevent such a scenario. This led to the Kursk incursion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in an interview with NBC News that was released earlier this week. A full Ukrainian version of it was put online on Thursday. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA lack of long-range capabilities made us think hard. Every second we thought: what\u2019s the alternative? That resulted in an operation in the Kursk region, a successful operation,\u201d Zelenskyi said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPutin and his inner circle openly stated that they want to build a buffer zone along our border, some kilometers deep inside our country. It was clear that they won\u2019t stop. (\u2026) We realized that we need to conduct an operation so that the buffer zone was made not by them, but by us,\u201d the Ukrainian President said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had an understanding that if they break through our border into Sumy region, opposite Kursk, it will take us very long to stop them and then push them out. We\u2019ll need to have superiority in troops and weapons. There\u2019s no certainty that we\u2019ll have it. So we made a preemptive strike that was designed as an operation,\u201d Zelenskyi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Besides, Russia had to divert troops to Kursk from other sections of the frontline in Ukraine. \u201cOne of the goals of the Kursk operation was to force Russia to redeploy their forces to their territory. They have massed around 60,000 troops there. They have pulled them back from some areas that threatened to become difficult for us, because we didn\u2019t have the weapons that were part of the military aid packages,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine doesn\u2019t need Russian land, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said in an interview with NBC News. Ukraine\u2019s Kursk incursion is aimed to restore the country\u2019s territorial integrity, he explained. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t need Russian land. Our operation is aimed to restore our territorial integrity. We don\u2019t need their people, their civilians, their citizens. We take their troops prisoner to exchange them for ours,\u201d Zelenskyi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t need their land. We don\u2019t want to bring our Ukrainian way of life there. I say this because I understand international law and have respect for state sovereignty. Ukraine is a state that respects rules and laws. But we must act adequately today to be stronger. This operation strengthens the country. It does not mean that we will swap one piece of land for another,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine has captured 600 prisoners of war so far during its incursion into Russia\u2019s Kursk region. \u201cNot their civilians, we are not looters or murderers. We do not act like Russians when they came to us and killed civilians, took them prisoner and tortured them. We took 600 troops prisoner, including officers, Kadyrov\u2019s Chechen fighters and others. We will exchange them for our guys,\u201d Zelenskyi said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said Ukrainian forces are planning to hold territory in the Kursk region for an unspecified period of time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ukraine\u2019s Kursk incursion is part of the country\u2019s victory plan, President Zelenskyi said in an interview with NBC News. The plan\u2019s implementation depends on Ukraine and its allies. Russia has no role in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI wanted to show the victory plan to President Biden, but only after our success in the Kursk region. That\u2019s why I didn\u2019t do it before, but will definitely do it now. [It represents] our understanding of how Ukraine can win,\u201d Zelenskyi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The plan was designed to be implemented with the help of Ukraine\u2019s allies, and doesn\u2019t count on Russia\u2019s willingness, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was very important for me to avoid a situation when in a dialogue someone would suggest considering whether Russia will accept it or not. The plan doesn\u2019t depend on them. Our allies have to choose whether they agree to Ukraine\u2019s victory or whether they are just ready to contain Putin,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zelenskyi reiterated that the Ukrainian incursion into Kursk region is an aspect of a wider operation that is \u201cthe first part\u201d of Ukraine\u2019s victory plan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
On Thursday, Ukraine\u2019s parliament formalized the appointment of several ministers, continuing the reshuffle that began earlier this week. It has endorsed, among others, the ministers who deal with foreign policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The parliament has approved the appointment of Andriy Sybiha, currently deputy foreign minister, as the new foreign minister, replacing Dmytro Kuleba.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Olha Stefanishyna will become also Justice Minister while keeping her post as Deputy Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n