A Ukraine official on Thursday shed some light on the objectives of Kyiv's armored assault into the Kursk region of western Russia.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak announced during a national TV broadcast that the surprise incursion was launched to boost Kyiv's position in future negotiations with Russia, Telegram channel Country Politics reported.
The presidential adviser said Russian losses of territory, people and equipment will positively impact potential future negotiations with Russia in the war, launched by President Vladimir Putin in February 2022.
Ukraine's advances on Russian territory will also "scare" Russians and worsen their attitude towards the Russian leader.
The Context
Thousands of Kursk residents have been evacuated, and a state of emergency has been declared in the area which borders Ukraine's northeastern Sumy region since the cross-border raid was launched on Tuesday.
Kyiv's forces are reported to have occupied at least 11 settlements and the Sudzha gas measuring facility, which facilitates the flow of Russian gas to Europe.
Anti-Kremlin militia groups have previously launched cross-border raids into Russia's Belgorod region.
What We Know
Kyiv had previously dodged questions about the purpose of its surprise incursion into Russia.
"Are they reacting to something other than fear? No, we need to finally realize this. Russia will perceive any compromise as weakness and a willingness to kneel before it," said Podolyak on Thursday.
"You can only squeeze something out, get something, if they understand that [the war] is not going according to their scenario," he added.
Newsweek has contacted the foreign ministries of Russia and Ukraine for comment by email.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Defense Ministry have sought to downplay the scale of Ukrainian advances in the region.
Putin on Wednesday called Ukraine's cross-border armored assaults a "large-scale provocation."
"We have to start with the events in the Kursk region," he said at an emergency meeting of his Security Council. "As you know, the Kyiv regime has carried out another large-scale provocation, firing indiscriminately with various types of weapons, including missiles, at civilian buildings, residential buildings, and ambulances."
Until Podolyak's remarks on Thursday, Ukraine's goals in the Kursk offensive had remained unclear.
On Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on that Washington was "going to reach out to the Ukrainian military to learn more about their objectives."
Views
Russian military bloggers have voiced their discontent on Telegram in the aftermath of the cross-border raid, suggesting more should be done to prevent Ukrainian forces from advancing deeper into Russian territory.
Some called the situation "hell on earth" and said the assault had likely been long planned.
"We knew that the Ukrainian Armed Forces would go to Kursk Oblast. We knew that they were pulling forces together. We knew everything as usual, the guys from the fields reported it, but the higher-ups did nothing," pro-war blogger Anastasia Kashevarova said.
The Callsign OSETIN Telegram channel said: "Columns of equipment are moving across our lands, and the troops and infantry are nowhere to be found...there is no artillery, no tanks, no equipment, and did anyone prepare for this? Only aviation, operators and forward air controllers are working, border guards are also fighting."
What's Next?
It remains unclear if the ongoing Kursk offensive will have an impact on possible negotiations between Ukraine and Russia. The prospect of peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow has been raised multiple times since the war began.
The Kremlin has specified a few conditions Russia considers nonnegotiable, including that Ukraine must accept the September 2022 annexation of four of its regions—Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia—following referendums called by Putin that were deemed illegal by the international community.
In June, Putin said Ukraine must also renounce any plans to join the NATO military alliance.
Ukraine has said that any peace deal must invalidate the September 2022 annexations of its territory, and that the Crimean Peninsula, which Putin annexed in 2014, must once again be considered part of Ukraine.
Do you have a tip on a world news story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Russia-Ukraine war? Let us know via worldnews@newsweek.com.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
