Putin says Ukraine's surprise attack aims to wreck Moscow's strategy
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The news: Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine's incursion into the Kursk region was a strategic move to undermine Moscow’s eastern offensive and gain leverage for future peace talks.
He said the attack that began on 6 August appeared to reflect Kyiv’s attempt to gain a better negotiating position in possible future talks to end the war, The Associated Press reported.
The context: In a televised meeting with top security and defence officials, Putin said the Defence Ministry’s main task was to “drive out the enemy from our territories and, together with the Border Service, ensure reliable protection of the state border.”
Russia is rushing reinforcements, including tanks, men and artillery to try to hold off Ukraine’s surprise cross-border incursion, the first time since World War II that a foreign military has taken control of part of its territory, Bloomberg reported.
The numbers: At the same meeting, Putin abruptly cut off acting regional governor Alexey Smirnov when he reported Ukrainian forces had seized control of 28 towns and villages in the Kursk border region. More than 120,000 had fled their homes and another 60,000 were waiting to be evacuated, Smirnov said.
What they said: “It’s obvious that the enemy will keep trying to destabilize the situation in the border zone to try to destabilize the domestic political situation in our country,” Putin said.
He said the number of volunteers joining the Russian military had increased because of Ukraine's assault, adding that Russian forces will carry on with their offensive in eastern Ukraine regardless.
The sources: Associated Press , Bloomberg
