President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies to lift restrictions on the use of their weapons to strike inside Russia, saying his army’s two-week incursion into the neighbouring country had called into question Vladimir Putin’s threats of retaliation.
Ukraine was seeking to degrade Russia’s ability to launch attacks, including by establishing a buffer zone on Russian territory as Kyiv’s forces continued their cross-border incursion into the Kursk region, said Zelensky.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit Kyiv on Friday in an attempt to balance ties with Washington and Moscow, but had ruled out a role in mediating an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter.
Zelensky jabs at allies keeping limits on strikes inside Russia
President Volodymyr Zelensky urged Ukraine’s allies to lift restrictions on the use of their weapons to strike inside Russia, saying his army’s two-week incursion into the neighbouring country had called into question Vladimir Putin’s threats of retaliation.
Kyiv’s troops were in control of more than 1,250 square kilometres of Russian territory and would continue their gradual expansion in the Kursk region, Zelenskiy said at a meeting with Ukrainian diplomats on Monday, according to posts on his X account.
Russia has continued attacks elsewhere along the frontline, advancing slowly in the eastern Donetsk region, while it seeks to slow Ukraine’s advance into its territory.
If Western partners allowed Ukraine to use weapons to target airfields, military bases and logistics facilities deeper inside Russia, Kyiv’s army wouldn’t have had to enter the Kursk region to protect communities along the border, according to Zelensky.
Russia’s military has repeatedly launched missiles, glide bombs and drones from the Kursk and neighbouring Belgorod regions to strike Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv and Sumy that are close to their shared border.
Ukraine’s capture of the swathe of border territory — the first foreign military offensive inside Russia since World War 2 — sent some 200,000 Russians fleeing their homes and put the Kremlin on the back foot.
Ukraine kept quiet about its preparations to avoid pushback from allies concerned about escalation, while the success of the operation showed Russia’s red lines were an illusion that “has crumbled apart”, he said.
While the US and European Union were caught by surprise, they have largely endorsed the operation, even as they remained cautious about its prospects.
Ukraine seeks Russia buffer zone with attack, says Zelensky
Ukraine was seeking to degrade Russia’s ability to launch attacks including by establishing a buffer zone on Russian territory as Kyiv’s forces continued their cross-border incursion into the Kursk region, said Zelensky.
“Everything that inflicts losses on the Russian army, Russian state, their military-industrial complex, and their economy helps prevent the war from expanding and brings us closer to a just end to this aggression,” Zelensky said on Sunday during his nightly address. “This includes creating a buffer zone on Russian territory — our operation in the Kursk region.”
“We are achieving our goals,” Zelensky said on Monday on his Telegram channel.
His account of the offensive’s objectives suggests Ukraine plans to try to hold on to the gains made inside Russia to shield northern Ukrainian communities from attacks across the border.
Providing it can retain control of the territory, Ukraine may also be seeking bargaining chips with Russia in any future negotiations to bring an end to the war that’s deep into its third year.
Read more: Why Ukraine invaded Russia for first time in conflict: QuickTake
Ukraine said its forces struck two key bridges across a river in the Glushkov district of Kursk region at the weekend. There were unconfirmed reports from some Russian military bloggers on Telegram on Monday that a third bridge had also been destroyed, adding to challenges facing Russia’s army in reinforcing its troops and delivering ammunition supplies.
If Ukraine disables those three bridges, its forces could expand control over more of the Kursk region’s border area and shield themselves from Russian attack, said Ian Matveev, an independent military analyst. “They can set up defensive positions on the river and advance deeper,” he said.
Zelensky may also be goading Russian President Vladimir Putin, who said last year that his military should create “a buffer zone in Ukrainian territory” to protect Belgorod and other Russian regions from attack.
Putin made no mention of the incursion during a visit to Azerbaijan on Monday for talks with President Ilham Aliyev. The Kremlin leader last week threatened a “strong response,” telling his top security officials that the defence ministry must “force the adversary to withdraw from our territory”.
Russia was using pontoons to cross the river and was capable of seizing back the battlefield initiative, said Sergei Markov, a political consultant close to the Kremlin. The Ukrainian incursion “has seriously strengthened the political support for an escalation of the conflict in Russia”, he said.
Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region — in particular around Pokrovsk and Toretsk — remains the focus of some of the most intensive fighting in the war. Donetsk regional Governor Vadym Filashkin said in televised comments that families with children must evacuate from Pokrovsk starting on Tuesday.
Modi to visit Ukraine for first time since Russia’s invasion
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was scheduled to visit Kyiv on Friday in an attempt to balance ties with Washington and Moscow, but had ruled out a role in mediating an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to people familiar with the matter.
The South Asian nation has, however, agreed to relay messages between Putin and Zelensky, the people said, asking not to be named as discussions are private. Indian officials have called for dialogue and diplomacy to end the war that began with Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Modi’s visit to Ukraine comes weeks after he visited Russia, a longtime India ally, sparking frustration in Washington. President Joe Biden’s administration has made closer ties with India a cornerstone of its foreign policy. US officials expressed concern about the Russia visit in a series of meetings and phone calls with their Indian counterparts in July, Bloomberg News has reported.
“The meeting will provide an opportunity to review the entire gamut of relations including agriculture, economy, defence, pharmaceutical and people-to-people ties,” said Tanmaya Lal, Secretary West in India’s Ministry of External Affairs. “Defence is one of the main pillars of the multifaceted relationship between India and Ukraine.”
Modi’s reluctance to broker an end to the war is partly because of India’s dependence on Russia for cheap oil and weapons. New Delhi has refrained from criticising Moscow over the invasion, now well into its third year, and has increased its purchase of Russian oil to record levels. The South Asian nation shares hostile borders with Pakistan and China.
Modi’s Kyiv visit will be restricted to a few hours because of security concerns. The conflict entered a new phase recently when Ukraine wrested Russian territory for the first time since the invasion.
From Ukraine’s vantage point, it was important for Zelensky to meet with Modi to discuss India’s role in restoring peace to the region, a person familiar with the matter said. India has been central to Zelensky’s ambition to win over key nations from the so-called Global South, an effort that has stumbled this year. India was among nations at a June summit meeting in Switzerland not to sign a final statement, a blow to Ukraine’s bid to broaden support in its war to fend off Russia’s invading forces.
Defence shares fall as report on Ukraine aid stokes concern
European defence stocks slid on Monday, paring some big year-to-date gains, after a weekend report from local media suggested that Germany would no longer grant new requests for aid to Ukraine in an effort to rein in spending.
Germany’s Rheinmetall fell by as much as 5.1% in Frankfurt and Hensoldt slumped by 7.6% before paring some of the losses. Norway’s Kongsberg Gruppen dipped by as much as 4%.
A basket of defence-exposed European shares tracked by Goldman Sachs Group dropped by as much as 3.4%, still up 46% this year after investors piled into the sector amid global geopolitical unrest.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported on Saturday that while existing German aid programs to Ukraine should generally continue, additional applications for military support would not be approved. It cited government documents, emails and unidentified officials.
Germany pushes back against report on ending Ukraine support
Germany would continue to support Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s invasion for as long as necessary, according to a spokesperson for the finance ministry in Berlin.
The spokesperson, Fabian Leber, was responding to the weekend report in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper that said spending constraints mean that financing for additional aid for Ukraine — on top of what has already been earmarked — would not be available from the federal budget.
Leber said Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition and its international partners would be relying on part of the support for the government in Kyiv being funded from profits generated by immobilised Russian central bank assets.
“We are still standing shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine and that applies especially” to Finance Minister Christian Lindner, Leber told reporters on Monday at a regular news conference. “He says that of course we will support Ukraine for as long as necessary.”
The European Union, the US and other Group of Seven allies have been working to finalise plans to provide Ukraine with $50-billion in loans by the end of the year, following an agreement reached at a G7 leaders’ summit in June.
Both Leber and Wolfgang Buechner, a deputy government spokesman, said on Monday that Germany expected agreement on the plan by the end of this year so that Ukraine could start to receive the funds from 2025.
“The chancellor’s pledge still applies that support for Ukraine will continue for as long as it’s needed,” Buechner said. “Nobody, above all the Russian president, can hope that we will ease off.” DM