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Moscow: President Vladimir Putin said Monday that Ukraine‘s biggest attack on Russian territory since the start of the war was aimed at improving Kyiv’s negotiating position ahead of possible peace talks and at slowing the advance of Russian forces. Ukrainian forces rammed through the Russian border last Tuesday in a surprise attack and swept across parts of Kursk region.
Putin, in his most detailed public remarks on the incursion to date, said Ukraine “with the help of its Western masters” was trying to improve its position ahead of possible talks.He questioned what negotiations there could be with an enemy he accused of firing indiscriminately at Russian civilians and nuclear facilities. “The main task, of course, is for the defence ministry to squeeze out, to knock out the enemy from our territories,” Putin said, adding that Russian forces were accelerating their advance along the rest of the 1,000-km main front. “The enemy will certainly receive a worthy response,” he added. Putin also said he expected further Ukrainian attempts to destabilise the western border.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said the war was now coming back to Russia. He said Ukraine’s assault was a matter of security for Ukraine and that Kyiv had captured areas from where Russia launched strikes. His top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Ukraine now controlled 1,000 sq km of Russian territory.
The acting governor of Kursk, Alexei Smirnov, said Ukraine controlled 28 settlements in the region, and the incursion was about 12km deep and 40km wide. In Kursk region alone, 121,000 people had already left or been evacuated and another 59,000 were in the process of being evacuated. In Belgorod region, which borders Kursk, thousands of civilians were also evacuated.
Ukraine forces in Kursk were trying to encircle Sudzha, where Russian natural gas flows into Ukraine, while battles were under way near Korenevo and Martynovka. reuters
Putin, in his most detailed public remarks on the incursion to date, said Ukraine “with the help of its Western masters” was trying to improve its position ahead of possible talks.He questioned what negotiations there could be with an enemy he accused of firing indiscriminately at Russian civilians and nuclear facilities. “The main task, of course, is for the defence ministry to squeeze out, to knock out the enemy from our territories,” Putin said, adding that Russian forces were accelerating their advance along the rest of the 1,000-km main front. “The enemy will certainly receive a worthy response,” he added. Putin also said he expected further Ukrainian attempts to destabilise the western border.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky said the war was now coming back to Russia. He said Ukraine’s assault was a matter of security for Ukraine and that Kyiv had captured areas from where Russia launched strikes. His top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said Ukraine now controlled 1,000 sq km of Russian territory.
The acting governor of Kursk, Alexei Smirnov, said Ukraine controlled 28 settlements in the region, and the incursion was about 12km deep and 40km wide. In Kursk region alone, 121,000 people had already left or been evacuated and another 59,000 were in the process of being evacuated. In Belgorod region, which borders Kursk, thousands of civilians were also evacuated.
Ukraine forces in Kursk were trying to encircle Sudzha, where Russian natural gas flows into Ukraine, while battles were under way near Korenevo and Martynovka. reuters
