Kyiv: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy revealed that Ukraine withheld its plans to attack Russia’s Kursk region from its allies, fearing they would deem the operation “unrealistic”.
“This is why nobody had been informed about our preparations,” Zelenskyy stated during a speech to Ukraine’s foreign diplomatic missions on Monday, as reported by Ukrainian media outlet Pravda.
Zelenskyy highlighted the success of the operation, noting, “Our active defensive actions on the other side of the border and Putin’s inability to protect his territory from our defensive actions of this kind are very telling,” referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
The secrecy surrounding the invasion extended beyond Ukraine’s allies; even Ukrainian soldiers were only briefed on the operation at the last minute. “We joked that it wasn’t April 1st. The commander just smiled, knowing we had no idea what was awaiting us,” a Ukrainian soldier named Serhiy told The Economist.
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On August 6, Ukraine launched a surprise offensive into the Kursk region, catching Russian forces off guard and achieving significant battlefield gains. Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine’s military commander in chief, reported that Ukraine captured nearly 400 square miles of Russian territory within days, nearly equivalent to the territory seized by Russia in Ukraine this year.
“When our Ukrainian defenders act decisively and bravely, and when the operation is well-prepared, Putin has no choice. And now the world sees that it is realistic, that it really works,” Zelenskyy emphasized in his Monday address.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to Business Insider’s request for comment outside regular business hours.
