Kyiv's Kursk incursion into Russia is related to Ukraine's second peace summit and is one of "the stages to end the war," President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference on Aug. 27.
The Washington Post (WP) reported, citing undisclosed official sources, that Ukraine's incursion into Russia was disrupting plans for indirect talks in Qatar on mutually halting strikes on energy infrastructure. Zelensky refuted these reports.
"The Kursk operation is not related to any of the points of (Ukraine's) peace formula. Is the Kursk operation connected to the second peace summit? Yes, it is. Because the Kursk operation is one of the points of Ukraine's victory plan," the president said.
Russia was not invited to the inaugural peace summit in Switzerland in June, but Kyiv has said it aims to invite a Russian representative to the second conference.
Speaking at the forum, Zelensky said he is planning to present the U.S. leadership with a victory plan in September and that the Kursk incursion is one of the four steps.
The other items include Ukraine's participation in the global security infrastructure, pressuring Russia to end the war through diplomatic means, and an economic aspect, Zelensky said without revealing any details.
The president also said that one of the goals of the incursion was to decrease the number of voices calling for negotiations with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
As Kyiv's incursion into Kursk Oblast enters its fourth week, Ukraine is in control of 1,294 square kilometers and 100 settlements, including the town of Sudzha, Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said. A total of 594 Russian soldiers have been captured, according to the general.
Kateryna Denisova
(Updated: )
