Ukraine President Volodymr Zelensky on Monday said the ongoing and surprisingly thus far pretty successful incursion by Kyiv’s troops into Russia’s Kursk region was designed to stop Putin’s legions from firing shells across the border at Ukraine and to capture POWs, Politico EU reports.
In his nightly address to the nation, Zelensky said Ukrainian troops were targeting “the areas from which the Russian army launches strikes on our Sumy,” adding that nearly 2,100 shells had been fired from the Kursk region into Ukraine since June 1st. “Therefore, our operations are purely a security matter for Ukraine — the liberation of the border area from the Russian military.”
“It is only fair to destroy Russian terrorists where they are, where they launch their strikes from,” said Zelensky, adding that Ukraine’s strategy would also enable it to “replenish” the POW “exchange fund” and enable his wartime government to “return all our people from Russian captivity.”