Zelensky calls Kursk operation a success as last troops leave Russian territory: Mission accomplished

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday called his military’s operation in Kursk Oblast a success, as the last remnants of Kyiv’s forces leave the Russian territory they have occupied since August.Ukraine shocked the world with its bold offensive operation in the summer that at its height took control of an area about the size of Los Angeles in Kursk, Russia.The idea was to distract Russian forces from advancing on the strategically important city of Pokrovsk in southeastern Ukraine, a goal Zelensky said was achieved.“I believe the mission is accomplished,” he said.

“I think that the situation in the Pokrovsk direction is now stable, and it will be very difficult to find an opportunity to occupy Pokrovsk again.”Ukraine’s Kursk operation aimed to lure Russian troops away from Pokrovsk in the direction of more Ukrainian-secure areas in Kharkiv and Sumy, Zelensky said.Before Ukraine’s Kursk operation, Sumy particularly had seen little conflict or military purpose since Ukraine forced Russia out of the region during the war.“The first pressure fell on the Kharkiv direction.[The Russians] pulled as many of their troops as possible from there to Kursk.

Then they began to withdraw from the eastern direction but did not abandon their main task — Pokrovsk,” he said.Still, Ukraine stayed in Kursk to continue its operation for seven months.There had been some hope that Zelensky could trade the Russian region in potential peace negotiations with Moscow, but Russian dictator Vladimir Putin showed no interest in making a trade.“We are just strong people who understood that at some point there is a chance that the Russians will stop at the Pokrovsk direction.

And that’s how it turned out,” Zelensky said.“The Pokrovsk direction -— the situation is stabilized, as well as in the Kharkiv direction.”His declaration of success comes as the majority of Ukraine’s forces have finished their withdrawal from Kursk, which began March 5.Zelensky...