Ukraine will “hold” the territory as it is integral to his “victory plan” to end the the war, Zelenskyy said, adding he will present the proposal to international partners like the United States.
“For now, we need it,” he said of the territory Ukraine is now holding in Russia.
Kyiv now claims it controls nearly 500 square miles of Russian territory and has taken hundreds of Russian prisoners of war.
The Aug. 6 incursion was “a pre-emptive strike” to stop the Russians from creating a buffer zone along Ukraine’s border, Zelenskyy said.
With Kyiv intensifying its attacks on Russian border regions, Putin has vowed to take Ukrainian border territory to stop the assaults.
Zelenskyy said he couldn't discuss whether Ukraine planned to try to seize more Russian territory.
But Ukraine has insisted it only wants to take part in them from a position of power, which holding Russian territory could help give it. »
