Zelensky: Kursk territories are our bargaining chip with Putin

Volodymyr Zelensky, in an interview with NBC News, revealed that Kyiv plans to maintain control indefinitely over Russian territories it seized during the offensive in the Kursk region. He said these territories are a "bargaining chip" to force Vladimir Putin into negotiations.

In a conversation with NBC News, the Ukrainian president admitted that the occupied Russian territories are only a means to push Russia into negotiations and end the war. "We do not need their land. We do not want to transplant our Ukrainian way of life there," assured Volodymyr Zelensky.

He added that Ukraine will "maintain" this territory because it is integral to his "victory plan." He also mentioned that he would present this plan to international partners, including the United States.

When asked about Ukraine's further plans to conquer additional Russian territories, Zelensky said he could not disclose them. "With all due respect, I can't talk about it, I think that any success is very much dependent on the unexpected," he added.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine began an offensive operation in the Kursk region on August 6. Kyiv reported an increase in the area controlled by Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region. According to Oleksandr Syrskyi, the area occupied by the Ukrainian armed forces has expanded to 488 square miles, with 100 localities within it.

So far, Ukrainian forces around Kursk have taken 594 Russian soldiers captive.

The Ukrainian army encountered little resistance because the Russians did not consider the possibility of an invasion. The warning signal for the Kremlin was not even the spring raids conducted in this area by forces fighting on Ukraine's side: the Russian Volunteer Corps (RDK), the Siberia Battalion, and the "Freedom of Russia" Legion.