Zelensky threatens Russia with "retaliatory strikes"... and the first prisoner exchange deal for the Kursk attack

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed Saturday to take further retaliatory strikes against Russia, while Moscow announced a prisoner swap deal with Kyiv over the Ukrainian attack on the Kursk border region.

On the occasion of the anniversary of his country's independence from the Soviet Union, coinciding with the third year of the Russian attack on eastern Ukraine, Zelensky addressed the Ukrainians in a speech via a videotape filmed in a deserted forest area from which Kiev launched its surprise attack on Russia on August 6.

Kiev is marking its independence from the Soviet Union at a time when the war with Russia has reached a sensitive moment with Ukraine launching an attack on the Russian border region of Kursk, while Moscow makes further gains in eastern Ukraine.

Zelensky said Russia had "one goal in invading Ukraine: to destroy us. Instead, today we celebrate the 33rd anniversary of our independence. What the enemy brought to our land has now returned home," describing Russian President Vladimir Putin as "a sick old man from Red Square who constantly threatens everyone with the red button."

Zelensky seemed to be hinting in his remarks at Moscow's threat a few days ago of a nuclear catastrophe if the Ukrainian army launched an attack on the Kursk nuclear power plant, located in the area where Kiev has been launching an attack for two weeks, during which it has taken control of dozens of towns and hundreds of square kilometers.

In contrast, Russian forces continued to make gains on the ground in eastern Ukraine, confirming that they are inflicting heavy losses on the Ukrainians and preventing their attempts to advance deep into the territories controlled by Moscow.

Russia announced today that its air defenses destroyed 7 Ukrainian drones over the southern Voronezh region and the border regions of Belgorod and Bryansk.

"Moscow Devils"

In a related context, the Ukrainian President signed a law banning the Russian-linked Orthodox Church in Ukraine, and the decision was published on the Ukrainian Parliament’s website.

Zelensky said the move would strengthen his country's independence. In his speech, he declared that "the Ukrainian Orthodox Church is today taking a step towards liberation from Moscow's demons."

Ukraine has sought to distance itself from the Russian Church since 2014, and efforts have accelerated since the Russian attack in 2020.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church formally broke away from the Moscow Patriarchate in 2022, but Ukrainian officials often accuse it of being pro-Moscow.

The Russian offensive has the support of the country's Orthodox Church leader, Patriarch Kirill, a staunch ally of President Vladimir Putin.

On the other hand, Zelensky signed the law ratifying his country's membership in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, allowing the country to join the court.

The law, published on the parliament's website, is also an important step in Ukraine's efforts to get closer to the European Union.

prisoner exchange

In Moscow, Russia announced a prisoner exchange deal with Ukraine involving 115 prisoners of war from each side, explaining that the Russian recruits were captured during the Ukrainian attack on the Kursk border region.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that "at the end of the negotiation process, 115 Russian servicemen captured in the Kursk region were returned from the territory controlled by the Kiev regime. In return, 115 prisoners of war from the Ukrainian Armed Forces were handed over."

In turn, Zelensky confirmed the return of "115 of our defenders to their homeland. They are soldiers of the National Guard, the Armed Forces, the Navy, and the National Border Guard."

Suddenly, thousands of Ukrainian soldiers penetrated Kursk on the 6th of this month. Kiev says that its forces have so far controlled 1,250 square kilometers, including 82 towns and villages, and that the aim of the operation is to create what it calls a buffer zone inside Russian territory.

Source: Agencies