Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk Oblast aims to prevent Moscow from sending additional reinforcements to the front in Donbas and stop Russian cross-border strikes, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a press conference on Aug. 13 attended by a Kyiv Independent reporter.
"Unlike Russia, Ukraine does not seek to seize territory. We want to protect the lives of our people," spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said.
Until now, Kyiv has been mostly tight-lipped about the goals of its operation, which has reportedly led to Ukrainian forces controlling 1,000 square kilometers of Russian land since Aug. 6.
Russia's regional authorities said that Ukraine is in control of 28 settlements in Kursk Oblast as of Aug. 12, claiming that the incursion was up to 12 kilometers deep along a 40-kilometer front.
"I would like to remind you that since the beginning of this summer, Ukraine's Sumy Oblast has been targeted with over 2,000 strikes using multiple launch rocket systems, mortars, drones, 255 guided bombs, and more than a hundred missiles, launched from Kursk Oblast," Tykhyi said.
"Unfortunately, Ukraine does not have sufficient capabilities to carry out long-range strikes with the weapons it has to defend itself against this terror," Tykhyi said.
Asami Terajima
"Therefore, there is a need to liberate these border areas – with the help of the Ukrainian Armed Forces – from the Russian military contingent that strikes at Ukraine."
The Kursk incursion also helps to prevent Russia from "moving additional units to Donetsk Oblast and complicating (Russian) military logistics," the spokesperson added.
After Russia's Kharkiv Oblast offensive failed, Moscow began concentrating its efforts in the east, "throwing everything they have" in the direction of Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on July 30.
Tykhyi added that Moscow "would very much like to see" violations of international and humanitarian law in the operation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kursk Oblast.
"They would very much like to see this and use it in their propaganda."
There are "reasonable" fears that Russia may fabricate incidents, "including those involving Russian soldiers disguised as the Ukrainian military," Tykhyi said.
Ukraine has warned its partners "to be prepared for such developments," he added.
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