– Kursk is part of our peace plan

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy insists that Ukraine’s attack on Kursk is part of Ukraine’s peace plan.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Zelenskyj said that the war will eventually end at the negotiating table, so Ukraine needs a strong negotiating position.

The goal a The attack on Kursk to force Russia to end the war, he said.

Here he also said that Ukraine tested a self-produced ballistic missile for the first time, and that the test was successful.

Ukraine has the ability to produce 1.5 million to 2 million drones this year, according to Zelenskyj, who at the same time had to state that Ukraine currently does not have the funding to carry out the plan.

– It has covered almost 1,300 square kilometers

Three weeks ago, Ukrainian troops crossed the Russian border and entered the Kursk region. On Tuesday, Ukraine said it took control of an area of ​​nearly 1,300 square kilometers.

According to Ukraine, there are 100 settlements in the residential area.

The president explained that with the Kursk attack, he also wants to show the Russian people that Putin is more concerned about conquering a city that he has never heard of defending his territory himself.

Again, he emphasized that Ukraine is not willing to trade on any parts of the country’s borders.

– Communication with Putin at this time would be useless. He does not want a diplomatic end to the war. He “diplomatically” wants us to give him 30 percent of our country, Zelenskyj said.

In September, however, he hopes to be able to attend the UN General Assembly in New York and at the same time present Ukraine’s multi-step plan towards peace to US President Joe Biden. He wants to present the same plan to the two presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

Nuclear research

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been accused of attempting to attack the Kursk nuclear power plant, which Ukraine strongly denies.

On Tuesday, the head of the International Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, visited to inspect the power plant. Here he said that the situation is very real, and that there is a risk of a nuclear incident.

– The nuclear power plant is vulnerable, he said, because there is no protective building around the plant.

But he believes that it is an exaggeration to compare the situation of Kursk with Chernobyl.

Almost 600 prisoners

Ukraine’s defense chief, Oleksandr Syrskyj, said on Tuesday that 594 Russian soldiers have been taken as prisoners of war in Kursk. The information has not been verified from other sources.

On Tuesday afternoon, there were unconfirmed reports that Ukrainian soldiers tried to cross the border into another Russian region – Belgorod.

The Russian governor in the region has confirmed the information.