Zelenskiy: if Ukraine could strike deep in Russia, no need for Kursk incursion

(Reuters) -President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Ukrainian forces captured more than 1,250 square km (480 square miles) in a "defensive operation" in Russia's Kursk region and urged allies to allow Western weapons strikes deep inside the country.

Two weeks after Ukrainian forces launched a shock incursion into Russia's western region, Zelenskiy said the operation "no one knew about" proved there were no red lines of the Kremlin to be wary of.

"The naive, illusory concept of so-called red lines regarding Russia, which dominated the assessment of the war by some partners, has crumbled apart in these days somewhere near Sudzha," he said, referring to the border town currently under Kyiv's control.

Ukrainian troops have taken a total of 92 settlements, he added in an address to ambassadors published on the Telegram messaging platform.

"If our partners lifted current restrictions on the use of weapons on Russian territory, we wouldn’t need to physically enter the Kursk region," Zelenskiy said, citing the need to protect Ukrainian border communities.

Kyiv officials have long been urging allies to allow long-range strikes on military targets inside Russia, such as military airfields and warehouses, but appeals have for the most part not changed the West's approach.

Zelenskiy also said such restrictions were undermining Kyiv's capability to fend off a Russian offensive in the east, in areas of the strategic hub of Pokrovsk and Toretsk.

Both cities have seen the most intense fighting recently as Russian troops have been steadily pressing forward, moving as close as 10 km (6.2 miles) to Pokrovsk's outskirts.

"Everyone must remember that Ukraine is separated from halting the advance of the Russian army on the front by only one decision we await from our partners," Zelenskiy stressed.

He once again noted the necessity of timely weapons deliveries, an issue which has often come up during the 30-month-old invasion.

Such logistics currently "face delays", he said referring to deals with leading partners, including the U.S.

(Reporting by Yuliia Dysa; Editing by Hugh Lawson and Jonathan Oatis)