Ukraine’s operation in Russia’s Kursk region is part of a broader military, political and diplomatic effort aimed at making Russia accept a “fair peace,” said President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
“Everything we do is for the purpose of forcing Russia be ready for fair peace,” Zelenskiy told Indian journalists in Kyiv on Sunday, according to his Telegram. Ukraine took under its control two more settlements in Kursk region, he said in a daily video statement.
Ukraine’s leader also discussed with the visiting media Ukraine’s planned second peace summit, his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, and Kyiv’s hoped-for integration into the European Union.
Ukrainian forces launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region this month. On Saturday, Zelenskiy said the move was done to protect the northeastern Sumy region and to capture Russian soldiers who could be used for prisoner-of-war swaps.
Read more: Zelenskiy Says Kursk Operation Is Going According to Plan
Putin on Saturday night received reports from at least five commanders involved in combat missions in Russian territories bordering Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Sunday.
Ukrainian forces claim to have control of more than 1,250 square kilometers (483 square miles) of territory in the first foreign military offensive inside Russia since World War II.
In an operational update, Russia’s defense ministry said its troops continue to repel Ukrainian efforts in several settlements in the Kursk region, from which thousands of residents have fled in recent weeks.
“Reconnaissance and search operations continue to identify and destroy enemy sabotage groups in forested areas that were attempting to penetrate deep into Russian territory,” the ministry said.
The Kremlin on Saturday released video of Putin meeting with Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff. It was unclear when the meeting took place.
Ukrainian intelligence also observed a significant concentration of Belarusian military personnel, artillery and air defense in its Gomel region near Ukraine’s northern border under the disguise of military drill, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in emailed statement.
Ukraine urged Belarus to avoid “tragic mistakes under Moscow’s pressure” and withdraw the forces to a distance unreachable for Belarusian systems.