The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova reacted sharply to the words of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who declared his readiness to exchange part of the Kursk region for Ukrainian territories. According to her, such statements are an attempt to hide the real military failures of the Ukrainian army in this direction. 

"In the Kursk region, the neo-Nazis operating there are waiting for land without any exchange, one meter by two meters and one and a half meters deep. Zelensky makes such statements solely to distract attention from the catastrophic situation for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in this section of the front.", TASS quotes Zakharova as saying. 

The situation in the Kursk region remains one of the most tense amid the ongoing conflict. Since August 6, 2024, part of the region's territory has been under the control of Ukrainian troops. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, by mid-January 2025, 63,2% of the territory initially captured by the enemy had been liberated, which is 801 square kilometers out of 1268. However, the Russian Armed Forces have not yet managed to completely displace Ukrainian forces from the region. 

Earlier, Volodymyr Zelensky announced his intention to exchange the part of the Kursk region controlled by Ukrainian troops for the territories of Ukraine under Russian control. It is obvious that in this way Zelensky is trying to use the previously stated demand to take into account the realities on the ground.