Ukraine said on Friday that one of the goals of its ground offensive in Russia’s Kursk region is to force Moscow to enter into negotiations “fair” to end almost two and a half years of war.
Ukrainian troops launched a surprise attack on the border area on August 6, marking the largest incursion by a foreign army on Russian soil since the end of World War II.
Ukraine put forward several reasons to justify its assault, including forcing Moscow to withdraw troops from other parts of the front line or create a ““buffer zone” to protect themselves from bombing from Russian territory.
But it is becoming increasingly clear that kyiv also intends to use the seized Russian territories as bargaining chips in possible negotiations with the Kremlin.
“The military tool is used objectively to persuade Russia to enter into a process of fair negotiations”Mikhail Podoliak, an adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on the social network X on Friday.
Although he reiterated that Ukraine has no intention of “occupying” part of Russian territory, Podoliak noted that in the event of “possible” negotiations, a way had to be found to involve Russia.
A Ukrainian diplomat had already urged Russia on Tuesday to accept “a fair peace” on Ukraine’s terms.
Source: Gestion
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