Zelenskyy on Kursk operation's success: It's too early to judge, but there are results
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (photo: Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
It is too early to judge the success of the Kursk operation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in a historical context. But there are already some results, states Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
On the motives for the Kursk operation
According to Zelenskyy, there are several motives, including showing that Ukraine can go on the offensive and demonstrating to its partners what it can achieve if it receives the appropriate resources. However, there is more at stake.
“Imagine: you’re struggling in a tough war, you’re not receiving aid, you strain to maintain morale. And the Russians have the initiative in the east, they have taken parts of the Kharkiv region, and they’re about to attack Sumy. You have to do something—something other than endlessly asking your partners for help. So what do you do? Do you tell your people, 'Dear Ukrainians, in two weeks, eastern Ukraine will cease to exist'? Sure, you can do that, throw up your hands, but you can also try taking a bold step,” he emphasized.
On successes and results
At the moment, it is difficult to say whether this action will go down in history as a success or a failure.
“It’s too early to judge. But I am not preoccupied with historic successes. I’m focused on the here and now. What we can say, however, is that it has already shown some results. It has slowed down the Russians and forced them to move some of their forces to Kursk, on the order of forty thousand troops. Already, our fighters in the east say that they are being battered less frequently,” Zelenskyy said.
What the Kursk operation showed
The President does not say that it will lead to the end of the war or the “end of Putin.”
“IWhat it has done is show our partners what we’re capable of. We have also shown the Global South that Putin, who claims to have everything under control, in fact does not. And we have shown a very important truth to the Russians,” he emphasized.
Unfortunately, many Russians do not want to see or hear anything. But some could not help but notice that Putin is in no hurry to defend his land, but instead wants to finish off Ukraine, Zelensky added.
Earlier, the president said that the Kursk operation had affected the frontline in Ukraine. In particular, according to him, the advantage of Russians in artillery strikes in Donbas has decreased from 12:1 to 2.5:1.
Zelenskyy also explained what would happen if US President Joe Biden did not support Ukraine's victory plan. According to him, in this case, Ukraine will continue to live in the current “plan B,” which involves repelling Russian aggression with what it has.
