The Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said yesterday Sunday that the bold military invasion of the region Kursk of Russia is intended to create a buffer zone to prevent further attacks from Moscow on the other side of the border.

It was the first time Zelensky clearly stated the goal of the operation, which began on August 6. He had previously said the operation was aimed at protecting communities in the bordering Sumi region from continued shelling.

Zelensky stated that “it is now our primary task in defense operations as a whole: to destroy as much Russian military potential as possible and to conduct maximum counterattacks. This includes creating a buffer zone on the aggressor’s territory – our operation in the Kursk region,” he said in his nightly speech.

This weekend, Ukraine destroyed a key bridge in the region and struck a second one nearby, severing supply lines, as it pressed for a surprise cross-border invasion that began on Aug. 6, officials said.

The Ukrainians penetrated deep into the Kursk region from multiple directions, meeting little resistance and sowing chaos and panic as tens of thousands of civilians fled the area. Ukrainian army chief General Oleksandr Syrskyi claimed last week that his forces had advanced 1,000 square kilometers into the region, although it is not possible to independently confirm how much territory the Ukrainians actually control.

Looking for a “dead” zone in Kursk

Kiev has previously said little about the extent and aims of its push into Russia with tanks and other armored vehicles, the country’s biggest offensive since World War II, which caught the Kremlin by surprise and saw dozens of villages and hundreds of prisoners fall into the hands of Ukraine.

The Ukrainians invaded deep into the Kursk region from several directions, meeting little resistance and sowing chaos and panic as tens of thousands of civilians fled the region. Ukraine’s commander-in-chief, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, claimed last week that his forces had advanced into 1,000 square kilometers of the region, although it was not possible to independently verify exactly what Ukrainian forces effectively control.

Analysts say that while Ukraine could try to consolidate its gains inside Russia, it would be risky given Kiev’s limited resources because its own supply lines that run deep into Kursk would be vulnerable.

The invasion demonstrated Ukraine’s ability to take the initiative and boosted its morale, which had been dented by a failed counteroffensive last summer and months of grinding Russian gains in the eastern Donbass region.

The move in Kursk was similar to Ukraine’s September 2022 blitzkrieg operation under Syrsky, in which its forces regained control of the northeastern region of Kharkiv after taking advantage of Russian manpower shortages and the lack of field fortifications.