Ukrainian forces never intended to seize the Kursk nuclear power plant in Russia's Kursk Oblast following Ukraine's incursion into the region in early August, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during an interview with Nordic media on Oct. 30.
Moscow has repeatedly accused Kyiv of attacking or planning to attack the plant since the start of the Ukrainian incursion in Kursk Oblast, which Ukraine has flatly denied.
"Russia thinks they are very strong, but if we wanted to seize their nuclear power plant (Kursk Nuclear Power Plant), we would have done it, we could have done it, but we never wanted to do it. Because we understand that it would mean becoming the same as Russia," Zelensky said.
"We are not occupying their critical infrastructure, as they did with the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant."
The plant lies roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) from the Ukrainian-held positions in Kursk Oblast, according to the DeepState monitoring site.
The purpose of the Kursk operation was to create a buffer zone to protect the Ukrainian border, the president added.
Ukraine launched its cross-border incursion into Kursk Oblast on Aug. 6, claiming to initially seize some 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) but has recently faced mounting pressure as Russia pulls in reinforcements.
Moscow has transferred around 50,000 soldiers from other sectors of the front to Kursk Oblast, Ukraine's Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Oct. 10.
North Korean troops may join the Russian military in this front-line area soon, as confirmed by NATO and the Pentagon. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military said that they had recorded North Korean troops in the area but did not engage them in combat.
Kateryna Hodunova
(Updated: )
