Ukraine Could Have Captured Kursk Nuclear Plant But Chose Not To, Says Zelenskyy

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that Ukrainian defense forces had the capability to seize the nuclear power plant near Kursk but decided against it to avoid mirroring Russian tactics.

In an interview with media representatives from Northern Europe, Zelenskyy emphasized that capturing energy facilities or nuclear plants was never an objective for Ukraine, despite reports suggesting otherwise in Western media.

He remarked, “Russia believes it is very strong. However, if we had wanted to capture their nuclear plant, we could have done it. Yet, we never desired this because we understand that it would mean becoming like Russia.”

Zelenskyy explained that the operation in the Kursk region was initiated to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin from establishing a “buffer zone” in northern and eastern Ukraine. He reiterated that this intention had been publicly declared by Putin without receiving any response from the international community.

“When we realized that no one would provide us with long-range weapons, and that the Russians were attacking us from their territory while attempting to create a buffer zone to the north, we certainly advanced towards Kursk. This was intended to establish a buffer zone or something similar on their territory,” Zelenskyy noted.

He added that the incursion into the Kursk region and the acquisition of certain areas forced Russia to redeploy some of its forces from the Kharkiv direction and eastern Ukraine. However, he acknowledged that this was still insufficient to halt Russia’s advances.

According to the president, the current ratio of Ukrainian forces to Russian forces in the east stands at one to eight. Following the successful operation in Kursk, Ukraine has again reached out to its allies, requesting authorization for long-range strikes, presenting a victory plan in the process.

Nevertheless, Zelenskyy mentioned that some leaders from various countries have remarked that Ukraine is pressuring its partners and “asking for too much.”

“Russia thinks it is very powerful, but if we had wanted to capture their nuclear station, we could have done it. We had the capability, but we never desired this,” stated the president.