Ukraine planning to hold Russia’s Kursk territories seized in incursion indefinitely, Zelenskyy says
Ukraine is planning to hold the Russian territory it seized indefinitely, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told Sky News’ US partner NBC News.
In early August, Ukrainian forces launched a surprise attack into Russia’s Kursk region.
Kyiv claims to now control almost 500 square miles (around 1,300 square km) and it has taken hundreds of prisoners of war.
“We don’t need their land. We don’t want to bring our Ukrainian way of life there,” Mr Zelenskyy told NBC News during his first one-on-one interview since the offensive.
Ukraine war latest: More than 50 dead in missile strike
The Ukrainian leader speaking to NBC News
Instead, Ukraine will reportedly “hold” the territory as a key part of Mr Zelenskyy’s “victory plan” to end the war.
“For now, we need it,” he said of Kursk, adding he will present the proposal to hasten the war’s end to international partners like the US – where he is due to visit later this month.
During the interview, Mr Zelenskyy refused to rule out seizing more territory and since the Kursk incursion, Ukraine has had at least one cross-border attack repelled by Russia.
The August offensive was kept a secret from everyone, including allies and reportedly Ukraine’s own intelligence service.
This, Mr Zelenskyy said, was due to lessons learned from the previous summer’s counter-attack which was widely reported on – giving Russia time to prepare, he claimed.
Russia’s eastern advance in face of Kursk incursion
The Kursk incursion changed the face of the war, opening up a second major front in which Ukraine hopes to benefit.
A member of Ukraine’s 25th Separate Airborne Brigade keeps an eye on the sky as he rides in a car near the front line. Pic: Reuters
But it isn’t apparent how much it has impacted Russia’s ability to operate, or if it has drawn forces from elsewhere.
In the east of the country, Russia has been slowly advancing towards strategically important Ukrainian settlements.
Losing the likes of Pokrovsk and the neighbouring Toretsk, in the Donetsk region, would be a blow to Ukraine, experts have said.
A Ukrainian soldier launches a drone into the air, near Pokrovsk. Pic: Reuters
However, Moscow has so far been unable to dislodge Kyiv’s forces from Kursk and the episode represents a major embarrassment for Vladimir Putin.
Poltava ballistic attack
Elsewhere in the ongoing war, on Tuesday, at least 51 people were killed and more than 200 injured in a Russian ballistic missile attack on the city of Poltava.
The missiles struck a military academy and nearby hospital, officials said.
Three days of mourning have been declared to mark one of the single deadliest attacks of the war.
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Rescue efforts in the city were ongoing into the evening, with Mr Zelenskyy saying, as of 9pm UK time, that people were still trapped under the rubble.
“I am grateful to all the rescuers, doctors, medical nurses, and all the Poltava residents who have joined in to help, donated blood, and who provide support,” he said.
“We know that there are people under the rubble of the destroyed building. Everything is being done to save as many lives as possible.”
Elsewhere, Mr Zelenskyy conducted a shakeup of the Ukrainian government, ahead of his visit to the US.
“Autumn will be extremely important. Our state institutions must be structured in such a way so that Ukraine can achieve all the results it needs,” he said.
“For this, we must strengthen some areas of the government and changes in its makeup have been prepared. There will also be changes in the (president’s) office.”
Early on Wednesday, Russia launched a drone attack on Kyiv, according to Ukraine’s military.
“Super high-IQ revolutionaries” who are willing to work 80+ hours a week are being urged to join Elon Musk’s new cost-cutting department in Donald Trump’s incoming US government.
The X and Tesla owner will co-lead the Department Of Government Efficiency (DOGE) with former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
And in a post on X, the official DOGE account put out a call to arms for people to sign up and help “dismantle government bureaucracy”.
The post said: “We are very grateful to the thousands of Americans who have expressed interest in helping us at DOGE.
“We don’t need more part-time idea generators.
“We need super high-IQ small-government revolutionaries willing to work 80+ hours per week on unglamorous cost-cutting.
“If that’s you, DM this account with your CV. Elon & Vivek will review the top 1% of applicants.”
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Elon Musk speaking at an event held at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate. Pic: AP Photo/Alex Brandon
In a reply to an interested party, Mr Musk suggested the lucky applicants would be working for free.
“Indeed, this will be tedious work, make lost of enemies & compensation is zero,” the world’s richest man wrote.
“What a great deal!”
When announcing the new department, President-elect Donald Trump said Mr Musk and Mr Ramaswamy “will pave the way for my administration to dismantle government bureaucracy, slash excess regulations, cut wasteful expenditures, and restructure federal agencies”.
Mr Musk has previously made clear his desire to see cuts to “government waste” and in a post on his X platform suggested he could axe as many as three-quarters of the more than 400 federal departments in the US, writing: “99 is enough.”
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
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The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
At least 10 people have been killed after a fire broke out at a retirement home in northern Spain in the early hours of this morning, officials have said.
A further two people were seriously injured in the blaze at the residence in the town of Villafranca de Ebro in Zaragoza, according to the Spanish news website Diario Sur.
Two people remain in a critical condition following the blaze. Pic: AP
They remain in a critical condition, while several others received treatment for smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were alerted to the blaze at the residence – the Jardines de Villafranca – at 5am (4am UK time) on Friday.
Several residents were treated for smoke inhalation. Pic: AP
Those who were killed in the fire died from smoke inhalation, Spanish newspaper Heraldo reported.
The residence is home to 82 elderly residents.
Read more from Sky News:
Mass displacement in Gaza – people unsure where to go
Donald Trump picks vaccine sceptic as health secretary
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
The blaze started in one of the rooms, Fernando Beltran, the national government’s top official in the region, told reporters.
All of the victims were elderly residents, he added.
Relatives wait for news outside the care home. Pic: AP
Fire crews, paramedics and police officers remain on site, said a spokesperson for the regional government of Aragon who confirmed the fatalities.
It took firefighters several hours to extinguish the blaze, they said.
The cause of the fire is unknown and is being investigated.
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