Moscow on Monday ruled out any peace talks with Ukraine despite Kyiv raising pressure on the Kremlin by claiming fresh advances in its nearly two-week offensive on Russian territory.
Ukraine sent troops and tanks over the border on August 6, penetrating several kilometres into Russia’s Kursk region, where they are holding onto a chunk of territory.
Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine now controls over 1,250 sqkm and 92 settlements.
The biggest attack on Russian soil since World War II has rattled Moscow and taken Ukraine’s Western allies by surprise.
Zelensky said the incursion was achieving Kyiv’s objectives, which officials have previously said include stretching Russian forces, creating a “buffer zone” and bringing the war “closer” to an end on “fair” terms.
But in a speech to his ambassadors, he urged partner countries to allow the use of long-range weapons to strike deep into Russia and halt its advance in the east.
“Ukraine is separated from halting the advance of the Russian army on the front by only one decision we await from our partners: the decision on long-range capabilities,” Zelensky said.
The situation in the eastern Donetsk region means any delay effectively is “support for Russia’s offensive”, he said.
The incursion into Kursk would also not have been necessary if Ukraine could use such weapons to protect “citizens in border areas”, he added.
Zelensky urged diplomats to organise a second peace summit this year, saying “we must force Russia, with all our might and together with our partners, to make peace”.
But Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Kyiv’s attack had pushed the prospect of peace talks further away.
“At the current stage, given this escapade, we will not talk,” he said on Monday.
He called entering a negotiating process “completely inappropriate” and said future talks “depend on the situation on the battlefield, including in the Kursk region.”
Moscow, intent on not letting the offensive affect its own advance in eastern Ukraine, claimed another village in the war-battered Donetsk region on Monday.
And bracing for a further assault, Ukraine ordered the evacuation of families from the key city of Pokrovsk as Moscow’s forces inched closer to the logistics hub.
In Kursk, Zelensky’s troops have set up administrative offices and published previously unthinkable footage of Ukrainian soldiers patrolling Russian streets.
“We are achieving our goals. This morning we have another replenishment of the (prisoner of war) exchange fund for our country,” Zelensky said, referring to more Russian troops being taken captive.
The prospect of peace talks appeared distant even before Ukraine launched its incursion into Russia.
Russian President Vladimir Putin had demanded Ukraine cede swathes of territory if it wanted a ceasefire.
Zelensky, who has ruled out direct talks with the Kremlin, demands Russia’s full withdrawal from Ukrainian territory, including Crimea, and reparations.
Seeking to give impetus to a possible settlement, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Ukraine on Friday, officials in New Delhi and Kyiv said.
Modi recently visited Moscow, is close with Putin and has made no secret of his desire to bring about an end to the conflict.
Meanwhile, Ukraine was pushing on Monday with its Kursk offensive.