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President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that the lack of long-range weapons prompted the operation in Russia’s Kursk region. He discussed this during an interview with NBC News.
«As for the range: it was this lack of range that made us think every second about what alternatives we had, which led to the operation in the Kursk region. By the way, it was a successful operation.
We expected long-range weapons, but we received them in limited numbers—meaning we didn’t have enough of these weapons, and not many long-range missiles and shells. Meanwhile, our intelligence informed us that Russia was planning to create a «buffer zone». Putin and his entourage openly stated their intent to build this «buffer zone» along our border, extending several kilometers into our territory.
We realized they wouldn’t stop. They made a breakthrough in Kharkiv Region. We managed to stop them and prevent them from occupying Kharkiv. After that, we received signals that they might attempt the same in the north—in Sumy and Chernihiv regions—which would have posed a serious challenge. I know they haven’t abandoned these plans, so we understood that we needed to conduct an operation to create a «buffer zone» ourselves.»
As a reminder, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been conducting an offensive in Russia’s Kursk region since 6 August. On 12 August, Ukraine officially commented on these events for the first time. Oleksandr Syrsky stated that Ukraine already controlled 24 settlements in the Kursk region.
Later that evening, President Zelenskyy clarified that the purpose of the offensive in the Kursk region was to protect Sumy Region. According to him, since June alone, Russians from the Kursk region had launched more than 2,100 attacks on Sumy Region.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry emphasized that Ukraine does not seek to occupy the Kursk region. The offensive was a necessary response, as Ukraine cannot use the weapons provided by its Western partners to push the Russian military out of the border area.
As of 19 August, Ukraine controlled over 1,000 square kilometers of Russian territory. Additionally, on 15 August, Ukraine established its first military commandant’s office in the Kursk region.
According to The Sunday Times, the UK government has decided to be more transparent about the use of weapons it provided to Ukraine during the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ offensive in Russia. This includes the use of Challenger 2 tanks.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Defence Secretary John Healey are reportedly working to persuade key allies to increase their support for Ukraine.
Roman Pohorilyi, co-founder of the DeepState project, told Hromadske Radio that Russian forces have been shifting troops to the Kursk region from areas in Ukraine. In particular, these are the areas that hold little strategic or tactical importance to them. For instance, they may withdraw troops from Robotyno or Krynky. At the same time, Russians do not move troops from Pokrovsk or Toretsk.
At the same time, the Kursk operation has reduced the number of attacks on Sumy region. This lead to fewer civilian casualties. Volodymyr Artyukh, head of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, mentioned this during a meeting with President Zelenskyy.