Putin Vows 'Worthy Response' to Ukraine's Kursk Offensive

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Facts

  • Russian Pres. Vladimir Putin on Monday vowed a 'worthy response' to Ukraine's offensive that last week swept through Russia's Kursk region and captured dozens of villages, forcing more than 120K people to evacuate.[1]
  • Speaking to a televised meeting with government officials, Putin said: 'One of the obvious goals of the enemy is to sow discord, strife, intimidate people, destroy the unity and cohesion of Russian society.'[2]
  • He claimed that Ukraine has failed to achieve that goal, stating that the number of people who volunteered to join the Russian military went up because of the offensive.[3]
  • He added: 'The main task is, of course, for the defense ministry to dislodge the enemy from our territories.'[2]
  • Putin further said that another objective of Ukraine appeared to be improving its hand in any peace negotiations. 'But what kind of negotiations can we even talk about with people who indiscriminately strike at civilians, at civilian infrastructure?' he added.[2]
  • During the meeting, Russia's governor of the Kursk region said that Ukraine's assault had captured 28 settlements in an offensive that was 25 miles (40km) wide and seven miles (12km) deep. Later in the day, Ukraine's top commander claimed the scale of success was more than double that, alleging that 386 square miles (1K square km) were captured. Neither account could be independently confirmed.[4]

Sources: [1]Al Jazeera, [2]CBS, [3]PBS NewsHour and [4]Guardian.

Narratives

  • Pro-Ukraine narrative, as provided by www.euractiv.com. Ukraine has only ever wanted peace. But after Putin brought war to its territory, the war is now coming home to Russian territory. This is the only way to force Russia into a peaceful settlement of this conflict.
  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. It's now clear why Ukraine rejected Russia's peace offerings. It wanted to improve its position in negotiations. But how can Russia negotiate with people who indiscriminately strike civilians and civilian buildings?

Predictions