Putin says Ukraine’s Kursk incursion has failed to slow Donbas advance

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia (Reuters) -President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region had failed to slow the Russian advance in Donbas and had weakened Ukraine’s own defences along the frontline helping Moscow’s forces.

Putin, speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, said that Russian forces were pushing Ukrainian soldiers out from Kursk where they launched the biggest foreign attack on Russia since World War Two on Aug. 6.

By transferring large numbers of well-trained units into Russia’s border region, Ukraine had weakened its own defences and had allowed Russia to accelerate its advance in eastern Ukraine, he said.

“The enemy’s goal was to make us nervous and worry and to transfer troops from one sector to another and stop our offensive in key areas, primarily in the Donbas,” Putin said. “Did it work? No.”

“By transferring rather large and well-trained units to these border areas with us, the enemy weakened itself in key areas, and our troops accelerated offensive operations.”

Putin, who ordered the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, said it was “the sacred duty of the armed forces” to expel the invaders and defend Russia’s citizens. He said that the situation had stabilised and that Russia was starting to push out Ukrainian troops from Kursk.

The primary goal of Russia was to take Donbas in its entirety, he added, saying Russian forces were taking chunks of territory in eastern Ukraine more swiftly than ever – and that recruitment rates were increasing in Russia.

“No action is taking place to contain our offensive,” Putin said. He said that the Russian advance on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk was successful.

Though the Kursk attack was an embarrassment for Putin and the top military brass, Russian officials are now casting the attack as one of Kyiv’s biggest tactical mistakes of the war because they say it ties down thousands of their troops for little real tactical or strategic gain.

Russian forces, which control 18% of Ukraine, have been advancing in eastern Ukraine since the failure of Kyiv’s 2023 counter-offensive to achieve a major breakthrough.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the attack was an attempt to bring the war to Russia, to force Putin to peace and to carve out a buffer zone to prevent Russian attacks on the neighbouring Sumy region.

Ukraine’s top commander, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that one of the objectives of the Kursk attack was to divert Russian forces from other areas, primarily in eastern Ukraine near Pokrovsk and Kurakhove.