Kursk operation forced Russia to continue its offensive only in east - Zelenskyy
Photo: Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Getty Images)
The Ukrainian Armed Forces' operation in the Kursk region disrupted Russia's offensive plans in the Sumy, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhia regions. However, Russians' plans have not changed, and they are now preparing, according to President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy's statement during a Zoom briefing for journalists.
The head of state was asked about his recent statement regarding Russia preparing to launch an offensive in three directions, aiming to push for a ceasefire from a position of strength and with a certain ultimatum. Specifically, what exactly does this ultimatum involve Zelenskyy responded as follows:
"First and foremost, Putin has already been in these positions regarding offensive actions, this was last year. About 7-7.5 months ago, before the Kursk operation, there were steps in the Kharkiv direction, and they were planning to move immediately to the Zaporizhzhia direction after Sumy. Partly, they tried something there, but it didn’t work out. However, they succeeded in the east. You remember they almost reached Pokrovsk, but thank God, today we managed to hold Pokrovsk, and it remains under our control. And now we are pushing them back a bit," said the president.
At the same time, he noted that Russia's offensive plans have not changed. Only the timing has changed. The head of state believes that the Kursk operation managed to delay these plans for 8 months, and this was done with the right steps.
"Regarding what they want and what the pressure is? So, in general, they wanted to be on the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, and Sumy, threatening the occupation of central or major capital cities from these regions. The capitals of these regions: are Sumy region - Sumy, Kharkiv region - Kharkiv, and respectively, Zaporizhzhia. This is what they tried to do – to block these large cities by capturing smaller cities and villages on the way to these cities," Zelenskyy informed.
The president believes that these were indeed the plans, adding that there is 100% information that Ukraine’s Kursk operation thwarted these plans. In particular, the enemy had to redirect its forces from different directions to the Kursk one. This, in turn, led to the fact that the Russians concentrated their offensive efforts only in the east.
"Over time, they shifted their troops to the Kursk direction, that’s what happened. Now, the plan is the same: to push us completely out of the Kursk direction. They have increased the number of their troops there. After pushing us out, they plan to strike in the direction of Sumy and then move troops to Kharkiv, and accordingly to Zaporizhzhia to do the same. I can't tell you that this will happen in this exact order. We believe they are preparing for this," said the president.
At the same time, he added that, as of now, Ukraine does not see such opportunities for Russia in the Kharkiv or Zaporizhzhia directions. The Russians also have no strong capabilities in the east. Currently, they are accumulating forces in the Sumy direction.
"They are accumulating these forces in Sumy, but they must push us completely out of there. Well, as you know, we are making various moves there. In one direction, then we shifted a little and unexpectedly made moves in another direction," the head of state concluded.
