Ukraine’s incursion into Kursk is part of a larger push for ‘just peace’

“Everything we are doing is aimed at forcing Russia to be ready for a fair peace,” Zelensky told Indian journalists in Kiev on Sunday, according to his Telegram. Ukraine has taken under its control two more settlements in the Kursk region, he said in a daily video statement.

Ukraine’s leader also spoke to visiting media about Ukraine’s planned second peace summit, his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday and Kiev’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 made to protect the northeastern Sumy region and to capture Russian soldiers who could be used for prisoner-of-war exchanges.

Read more: Zelenskiy says Kursk operation going according to plan

Putin received reports late Saturday from at least five commanders involved in combat missions in Russian territories bordering Ukraine, the Kremlin said Sunday.

Ukrainian forces claim 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 trying to penetrate deep into Russian territory,” the ministry said.

The Kremlin on Saturday released a video of Putin meeting with Valery Gerasimov, chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. It was unclear when the meeting took place.

Ukrainian intelligence services also observed a significant concentration of Belarusian military, artillery and air defense personnel in its Gomel region near Ukraine’s northern border under the guise of a military exercise, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. communication sent by e-mail.

Ukraine called on Belarus to avoid “tragic mistakes under Moscow’s pressure” and withdraw its forces to a distance inaccessible to Belarusian systems.