KURSK INCURSION’S GOAL IS ‘BUFFER ZONE ESTABLISHMENT’; RUSSIA SUSPENDS PEACE TALKS

Mon 19 August 2024:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed that the recent Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region was intended to create a “buffer zone” to separate Ukraine from Russia and hinder Moscow’s military operations. In a late Sunday interview on his official Telegram account, Zelenskyy emphasized the strategic importance of the operation.

During the interview, Zelenskyy detailed a report he had received from Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi about the situation in eastern Ukraine, including the operation in the Kursk region, the expansion of Ukraine’s “exchange fund,” and the provisioning of Ukrainian brigades with essential ammunition and weapons. He urged faster delivery of supplies from international partners, particularly the U.S., the UK, and France, stressing the importance of timely logistics for aid packages during wartime.

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Incursion Details and International Reactions

The incursion began on the night of August 5-6, when Ukrainian forces entered the area near the town of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region. On August 12, Zelenskyy confirmed the operation but withheld specific details about its objectives. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations reported the evacuation of approximately 9,500 people from the conflict zone, while Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the incursion as a “terrorist attack.”

Due to the ongoing conflict, independent verification of claims from both sides remains challenging.

Russia suspends peace talks efforts

Russia said on Monday that peace talks with Ukraine are currently impossible, citing Moscow’s peace proposal and Kyiv’s incursion into the western Kursk region.

“At this stage, taking into account this ‘adventure’ (Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region), we will not talk to them,” presidential aide Yury Ushakov said in an interview with Russian TV channel Life.

He said, “I don’t know how long will be the pause before we decide we are ready to start peace talks, everything depends on the situation on the battlefield, it has its impact, particularly in the Kursk region.”

On June 16, President Vladimir Putin presented Russia’s peace proposal to end the “special military operation” in Ukraine and begin peace talks.

At a meeting with Foreign Ministry employees in Moscow, Putin said Russia will “immediately” cease “special military operation” if Ukraine abandons its desire to join NATO and withdraws its troops from the country’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions, which have a predominantly Russian-speaking population.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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