On the offensive in Russia, kyiv wants to force Moscow into “fair” discussions

Ukraine said Friday that one of the goals of its offensive in Russia, in the border region of Kursk, was to force Moscow to “fair” negotiations, after nearly two and a half years of large-scale invasion of its territory .

Ukrainian forces attacked the Kursk region on August 6, seizing dozens of towns and hundreds of square kilometers in an offensive that surprised the Russian army as it slowly advanced further south into Ukraine's Donbass region

kyiv has provided various reasons for its assault, given that Russia occupies nearly 20% of Ukrainian territory: notably to force Moscow to withdraw troops from other parts of the front, or to create a “buffer zone” to stop bombing in Ukrainian border territories.

But kyiv also wants to use the conquered Russian territories as a bargaining chip in possible negotiations with the Kremlin.

Volunteers walk past a building hit by Ukrainian strikes, on August 16, 2024 in Kursk, Russia © AFP – TATYANA MAKEYEVA

“The military tool is being used objectively to persuade Russia to enter into a fair negotiation process,” Mykhailo Podoliak, adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Friday on X.

While he reiterated that kyiv had no intention of “occupying” any part of Russian territory, he also noted that, in the event of “potential” negotiations, a way had to be found to get Russia to sit “on the other side of the table.”

On Tuesday, a Ukrainian diplomat had already called on Moscow to accept “a just peace,” with kyiv demanding the withdrawal of the Russian army from its internationally recognized territory.

– “We left everything” –

However, negotiations between the two parties have been completely blocked since spring 2022, with Moscow continuing to demand that Ukraine accept the annexation of part of its territory.

Russia: Ukrainian offensive in the Kursk region © AFP – Valentin RAKOVSKY, Cléa PECULIER, Paz PIZARRO

Volodymyr Zelensky said he wanted to develop by November, the date of the presidential election in the United States — a vital ally of Kiev — a plan that would serve as the basis for a future peace summit to which the Kremlin must be invited.

He repeated that peace can only be possible if the Russian army withdraws completely, including from the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014.

Vladimir Putin demands that kyiv give him the Ukrainian regions that he claims to annex and renounce joining NATO. These demands are unacceptable to the Ukrainians and the West, who have never stopped calling for respect for international law.

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After ten days of advancing on Russian soil, Ukraine claims to have taken control of 1,150 km2 and 82 localities. On the other side, the Russian army claims to have deployed reinforcements.

kyiv says it has seized in particular the town of Soudja, located 10km from the border and where there is a major gas hub of the Russian giant Gazprom, supplying Europe via Ukraine.

A Ukrainian soldier carries a shell from a Soviet-made T-72 tank, in the Sumy region, near the border with Russia, on August 12, 2024 © AFP – Roman PILIPEY

At least 12 civilians have been killed and more than 120 injured since the start of the Ukrainian operation, according to a report from Russian authorities provided at the beginning of week.

In the city of Kursk, several dozen kilometers from the fighting, several dozen people of all ages were gathered Thursday in a temporary accommodation center after having hastily left their homes.

“We don't know what to do. We cry day and night,” Zinaïda Tarassiouk, a 70-year-old retiree, told AFP. “We left everything behind.”

Residents walk past the town hall, whose basement windows are protected by sandbags, in Kursk, Russia, on August 16, 2024 © AFP – TATYANA MAKEYEVA

“When we wanted to leave, there were our destroyed tanks, which were on fire,” said Inna Pereverzeva, 50.

The evacuations are taking place as fighting continues in the area. In one of them, two Russian aid workers were killed Friday in a Ukrainian strike, according to their organization.

– Russian push in the East –

Heavy fighting continues further south, in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops have the advantage against an outnumbered Kiev army.

Moscow claimed the capture of a new village there on Friday, that of Serguiyivka, about fifteen kilometers from the city of Pokrovsk, a logistical hub on the road to the strongholds of Chassiv Yar and Kostiantynivka.

A Ukrainian soldier installs protections on a Soviet-made T-72 tank, in the region of Sumy, near the border with Russia, on August 12, 2024 © AFP – Roman PILIPEY

The day before, Russian forces had claimed the capture of another village in this sector, where they have been advancing since May.

The Russian army also assured Friday that it had foiled an attack during the night by 12 American Atacms missiles fired by Ukrainian forces on the Kerch bridge, which links Russia to the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.

Finally, the Russian occupation authorities claimed that seven civilians had been injured at midday in a Ukrainian attack that hit a shopping center in Donetsk, a large city in eastern Ukraine under Moscow's control since 2014. A major fire was underway there in the afternoon.

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