Ukraine’s Zelensky says Russia incursion is part of victory plan he intends to show Biden

By Tara John, Kostyantyn Hak and Radina Gigova, CNN

(CNN) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the incursion into Russia’s Kursk region was the first part of Kyiv’s victory plan, which he intends to present to US President Joe Biden in September.

At a press conference in Ukraine’s capital on Tuesday, Zelensky said he plans on attending the United Nations General Assembly in September, where he would meet Biden. He added that the plan’s success largely depends on the US.

“The success of this plan depends on him. Will they give what we have in this plan or not. Will we be free to use what we have in this plan or not,” he asked.

He said the plan would be presented to both Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump. “As we don’t know who the president of the US will be and we want to conduct this plan,” he said.

While light on details, Zelensky said the four-stage plan began with the cross-border incursion into Kursk, which he said “is already done.”

“Second direction is Ukraine’s strategic place in the security infrastructure of the world,” Zelensky continued. “Third direction is the powerful package of forcing Russia to end the war in a diplomatic way, and the fourth direction is economical.”

“Kursk region is part of our plan. The plan of our victory. It may sound ambitious for someone, but it’s a very important plan for us,” he said.

He stopped short of giving more information, saying “he can’t say everything.”

Ukraine’s surprise military incursion this month left Russia struggling to shore up its own territory. Kyiv seems to have multiple goals with the assault, from boosting morale after a torrid few months to stretching Russia’s resources.

It also raised questions on how it would end aggressions as Russia has continued to advance in eastern Ukraine and is closing in on the city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk region, where authorities are scrambling to evacuate tens of thousands of residents

Ukrainian army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi told CNN that one of the objectives of the Kursk offensive was to divert Russian forces away from other Ukrainian cities, primarily Pokrovsk and Kurakhovo.

“Of course, the enemy understands this, so it continues to focus its main efforts on the Pokrovsk direction, where its most capable units are concentrated,” Syrskyi said on Tuesday in response to a CNN question.

Speaking at the heads of state institutions forum in Kyiv, Syrskyi claimed around 30,000 Russian forces have already been redeployed to Kursk, adding that the “figure is growing.”

CNN cannot independently verify this number.

At the same forum, Zelensky hailed Ukraine’s development of what he described as a new long-range rocket drone, called “Palianytsia,” which he has previously suggested was Ukraine’s “own way to take real action” amid restrictions by Western allies on the use of long-range weapons within Russia.

“Palianytsia” is a Ukrainian word for a type of bread that is typically reputed to be difficult to pronounce by Russians. Since the start of the war, Ukrainians have used the word to identify saboteurs or members of the Russian military.

As the fighting continues on several fronts, Russia launched its biggest ever aerial attack against Ukraine on Monday, hitting energy infrastructure across the country. More strikes landed on Tuesday morning, killing five people and raising the death toll from this week’s attacks to 12.

CNN’s Daria Tarasova-Markina and Ivana Kottasova contributed to this report.

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