This week began with an escalation of tension in Europe. President Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian army to “expel” Ukrainian troops within days They seized 28 towns in the Kursk border region, 525 kilometers from Moscow.
He Ukrainian Army Chief Oleksandr Syrskyassured that his troops continue to “carry out offensive operations” in the area and took control of “about a thousand square kilometers of the territory of the Russian Federation.” Ukraine surprised last Tuesday with a large-scale operation in this border region, two and a half years after the start of the armed conflict.
The Ukrainian incursion into Russian territory last week is considered the most significant attack by a foreign army on Russian territory since World War II.
Faced with this scenario, Putin closed the door to peace negotiations with kyiv: “What negotiations can we have with people who indiscriminately bomb civilians, civilian infrastructure or seek to threaten nuclear facilities?” the Russian president asked. at a special meeting on the situation in border areas broadcast on state television.
“There is nothing left to talk about,” said the Kremlin leader, who maintains that ““The enemy carries out the will of its Western masters with their help.” “The West is fighting us through the Ukrainians and is seeking to improve its future negotiating position,” he said.
Zelensky said the invasion was a “security issue”
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyspoke out about the incident and stated that The Kursk offensive was a “security issue” for Ukrainedue to Russian bombings on its territory. He also again asked Western countries for permission to use long-range missiles on Russian territory. “Russia must be forced to make peace,” he stressed.
“Russia brought war to others, now it is going to its own home. Ukraine has always wanted only peace and we will certainly ensure peace.”he concluded.
Ukrainian army invaded Kursk region
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers are taking part in the operation, according to a senior Ukrainian security official, with the aim of “stretching the enemy’s positions, inflicting maximum losses and destabilizing the situation in Russia.”
The situation in the border regions, and in Kursk in particular, is extremely difficult, as confirmed by the acting governor of this region, Alexei Smirnov, who acknowledged that Ukrainian forces advanced to a depth of 12 kilometers and the width of the front is 40 kilometers..
“There are 28 localities under enemy control “There are about two thousand people living there, whose fate is unknown,” Smirnov said. According to the information revealed by the Russian leader, the attacks left 12 dead, 121 injured and announced the evacuation of 100,000 citizens.
At the meeting with the heads of the Defence and Security Departments and the governors of the border regions of Belgorod, Bryansk and Kursk, Putin linked the Ukrainian incursion to an attempt to halt Russia’s advance in eastern and southern Ukraine“Such actions, without a doubt, pursue one main military goal – stopping the advance of our troops aimed at the complete liberation of the Luhansk and Donetsk People’s Republics and the territories of Novorossia (New Russia),” Putin said.
Source: Ambito
