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

Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox

FILE PHOTO: Mykhailo Podolyak, a political adviser to Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaks during an interview with Reuters, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 6, 2022. REUTERS/Anna Voitenko/File Photo

Mr Mykhailo Podolyak said Ukraine's incursion into Russia was aimed at Ukraine resolving the issue of its own security.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Follow topic:

KYIV - Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Aug 13 that Russia needs to be forced to participate in a summit on peace as it would not do so willingly.

Mr 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. REUTERS

See more on