Ukraine's presidential aide: to attend peace summit, Russia must be forced

(Reuters) - Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Tuesday that Russia needs to be forced to participate in a summit on peace as it would not do so willingly.

Podolyak told national TV that one of the methods of coercion is actions on the battlefield, referring to Ukraine's unprecedented cross-border incursion into Russia's Kursk region.

"Simple calls to Russia do not work, only a set of coercive tools works," he said, meaning economic and diplomatic pressure as well.

He added that by actions in Russia's border regions Ukraine was resolving the key issue of its own security.

"This is destruction of war infrastructure and formation of so-called sanitary zones so that Russia cannot use there ... equipment that strikes deep into the territory of Ukraine," he said.

A week after the launch of the incursion, Ukraine said it controls 74 Russian settlements and continues its advance.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Sandra Maler)