(Dan Tri) - Russia announced that it will push back Ukrainian forces from the Kursk region, while rejecting President Volodymyr Zelensky's idea of exchanging territory.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova (Photo: Tass).
In an interview with the British newspaper Guardian on February 11, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that if US President Donald Trump successfully brings Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table, he will propose to Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin a territorial exchange, exchanging territory in Russia's Kursk province for Ukrainian territory controlled by Russia.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has ruled out the possibility of a territorial exchange with Ukraine as part of a peace deal.
Ms Zakharova declared that Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Kursk would “receive land without any exchange”, referring to land to bury those killed in the area.
She also said President Zelensky's remarks were an attempt to distract from the difficulties Ukrainian forces are facing on the battlefield.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow firmly rejected any offers to exchange territories.
"This cannot happen. Russia has never discussed and will not discuss exchanging its territories," Mr. Peskov stressed.
Kremlin spokesman said Ukrainian units on Russian territory would be eliminated and pushed back.
“Certainly, Ukrainian units will be expelled from this territory. They will be wiped out, they will be pushed back,” Peskov added.
According to open source maps, Russia controls nearly 20% of Ukraine's territory, equivalent to more than 112,000 square kilometers, while Ukraine controls about 450 square kilometers of Russian territory in the Kursk region.
The Ukrainian army is believed to have lost more than half of the territory it gained in its initial offensive into Russia’s Kursk province six months ago. The Russian Defense Ministry estimates Ukrainian casualties in the Kursk operation at more than 59,500 troops.
President Putin warned last August that the Kursk operation would undermine the possibility of negotiations, accusing Kiev of deliberately targeting civilians and Russia's nuclear infrastructure.
He said the Russian military would definitely push Ukrainian forces back from Kursk, but refused to say when this goal would be achieved.
Moscow has stressed that any peace deal with Kiev must be based on the "situation on the ground", meaning the results of referendums when people in Ukrainian regions voted to join Russia.
Russia announced the annexation of Crimea, Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia. However, Ukraine and the West rejected this.
Last June, President Putin outlined more specific terms for ending the conflict, including: Ukraine would have to abandon its ambitions to join NATO and withdraw all troops from all territories claimed by Russia.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/nga-doa-xoa-so-quan-ukraine-o-kursk-khong-chap-nhan-trao-doi-lanh-tho-20250212182838479.htm
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