KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told NBC News on Tuesday that Kyiv is planning to indefinitely hold Russian territories it seized in a surprise incursion last month as it tries to force President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table.
“We don’t need their land. We don’t want to bring our Ukrainian way of life there,” he said during his first one-on-one interview since Ukraine’s high-stakes incursion into Russia.
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.
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Zelenskyy said he couldn’t discuss whether Ukraine planned to try and seize more Russian territory.
“I will not tell, I’m sorry, I can’t speak about it. It’s like the beginning of our, this, Kursk operation,” he said. “With all respect, I can’t speak about it, I think the success is very close to surprise.”
Ukrainian troops swept into Russia’s border region of Kursk nearly a month ago in a secret operation that has challenged the status quo of the two-and-a-half-year-old conflict. Kyiv now claims it controls nearly 500 square miles of Russian territory and has taken hundreds of Russian prisoners of war.
Initially shrouded in secrecy, the Kursk operation came as a surprise to Ukraine’s allies, including the U.S.
Zelenskyy told NBC News the Biden administration was not aware of the operation, and it was kept as a close-guarded secret even inside Ukraine.
Washington has repeatedly said it was not in on Kyiv’s plans for Kursk.
“Yes, we did not inform anyone. And it’s not the question of lack of trust,” Zelenskyy said, adding that Kyiv’s counteroffensive last summer failed in many ways because of how much it was advertised and talked about, giving Russians time to prepare.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Richard Engel and Gabe Joselow reported from Kyiv, and Yuliya Talmazan from London.