Russia's goal is to occupy and join territories, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said, adding that the aggressor state has occupied 27% of Ukraine's territory. He also underlined that Ukraine, on the contrary, does not have such plans, explaining that the Kursk operation has a defensive purpose and is aimed at preventing Russia from capturing even more Ukrainian territories.

"We do not join anything to our country. We do not change the legislation and the Constitution. We do not need someone else's lands. And we also do not need other countries' citizens," he told a Tuesday press conference in Kyiv.

The Ukrainian army is conducting a defensive operation to create buffer zones on the territory of Russia with the aim of preventing further occupation of Ukraine, the head of state said.