Russia declares Ukraine's operation in Kursk a failure

On September 5, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Ukraine's campaign to attack the Russian city of Kursk, aimed at slowing down Russia's advance in Donbass (Eastern Ukraine), had failed.

Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), Mr Putin said that Ukraine, by moving large and well-trained units into Russia, had weakened itself and allowed Russia to accelerate its offensive in eastern Ukraine. Mr Putin said Russian forces had begun to push Ukrainian troops back from Kursk, and claimed that Russia’s advance on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk had been successful.

In the same speech, the Russian leader suggested that China, India and Brazil could act as mediators in potential peace talks on Ukraine. He further noted that a preliminary agreement reached between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators in the first weeks of the conflict at talks in Istanbul, but never implemented, could serve as a basis for future negotiations.

Meanwhile, in an interview with Izvestia newspaper on the sidelines of the EEF, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “We know that there are military trainers from all over the world in Ukraine and they are taking part in the fighting, playing an important role in training Ukrainian soldiers. Foreign countries are certainly involved in the conflict. This is not new news. Our army is increasingly effective in achieving the goals set.”

HUY QUOC