Russia wants to retake Kursk before negotiating with Ukraine

(Dan Tri) - Russia seems to want to regain the entire Kursk territory before conducting any negotiations with Ukraine, according to the Washington Post.

Russian military forces (Photo: Sputnik).

The battle for control of Russia's Kursk province has intensified in recent days, as Moscow seeks to regain control of the entire territory amid the Kremlin's possible expectation of talks with the new administration of US President-elect Donald Trump on ending the conflict in Ukraine, the Washington Post reported.

According to the Washington Post , Russia's new counteroffensive in Kursk was chaotic and launched after Mr. Trump, who pledged to quickly end the war in Ukraine, won the US election.

“The timing appears to indicate the Kremlin’s growing appreciation of how Kursk could play a role in future negotiations: If talks take place, Russia wants to ensure that only Ukrainian territories are on the table,” the US newspaper added.

According to Konstantin Remchukov, editor-in-chief of Nezavisimaya Gazeta , "Moscow will not start any negotiations until the last Ukrainian soldier is pushed out of Kursk".

Russia is reportedly determined not to use Kursk as a bargaining chip, nor does it intend to give up any of the Ukrainian territory it controls. Mr. Remchukov noted that President Putin’s recent comments about agreements needing to reflect “the situation on the ground” were related to the goal of retaking Kursk.

Ukraine launched an offensive operation into Russia's Kursk border province on August 6. The Kursk operation took place after Ukrainian intelligence received information that Russia was preparing to launch an offensive in the direction of Kursk to Ukraine's Sumy region to establish a security buffer zone.

Kiev’s decision to attack Kursk was intended to both deter Moscow’s efforts and force Russia to divert resources and reduce pressure on its defense forces on the Eastern Front. In addition, the Kursk campaign was expected to help Kiev improve its position in potential future negotiations with Russia through control of the territory there.

However, the Ukrainian advance has stalled and they now control only half of the territory they initially gained. The Russian Defense Ministry said that so far, Ukraine has lost more than 32,000 troops and a lot of weapons and equipment in Kursk.

In order to limit losses and quickly push back the Ukrainian army from the border province of Kursk, Russia has mobilized its most elite combat units here.

According to the Ukrainian military, since November 7, Russia has begun to launch heavy attacks on Ukrainian positions in Kursk. Russia is believed to have gathered more than 50,000 troops, including North Korean soldiers, to launch a large-scale counteroffensive to push back Ukrainian forces in Kursk before US President-elect Donald Trump takes office in January.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/nga-muon-gianh-lai-kursk-truoc-khi-dam-phan-voi-ukraine-20241117141844477.htm