Ukraine announces new development in Russian Kursk region: “fighting continues”

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced this Friday It advanced up to 3 kilometers and penetrated into the area Russian From KurskIt has been ten days since this unprecedented Ukrainian offensive, more than two and a half years since the war began.

“We are advancing 1 to 3 kilometers towards the enemy in some directions. Fighting continues along the entire front line. “The overall situation is under control.”Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Alexander Chirsky announced to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

On the other hand, Chirsky announced this Friday a phone conversation with the head of the US Joint Forces, General Charles Brown, to whom he informed the latest developments and the main needs of the Ukrainian army. In the case of weapons.

The latest US military aid package begins on August 9 with US$125 million worth of weapons equipment, including ammunition for HIMARS rocket launcher systems, artillery shells and anti-tank missiles. Despite this latest supply, the White House already announced this week that new shipments are expected to be announced soon.

The Ukrainian government said one of the aims of its ground offensive in the Kursk region this Friday was to force Moscow into “reasonable” talks to end the war.

On August 6, Ukrainian troops launched a surprise attack on the border area The largest incursion of a foreign military into Russian soil since World War II. After ten days of progress, Kyiv claims to control 82 Russian citiesAmong them is Sudzha, 10 km from the border and an important point for gas shipping to EU countries through Ukraine.

Ukraine gave several reasons to justify its attack. But it is increasingly clear that Kyiv wants to use captured Russian territories as bargaining chips in potential negotiations with the Kremlin.

“The military instrument is used objectively to force Russia to enter the process of reasonable negotiations”Mijailo Podoliak said this Friday, adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky, to find a way to involve Russia in the social network.

Negotiations have stalled since the beginning of the conflict due to difficult demands to reconcile. Zelensky indicated that he wants to develop a plan ahead of November’s presidential election in his key ally, the United States, to serve as the basis for a future peace summit.

The Ukrainian leader reiterates that peace is possible only if the Russian military completely withdraws from Ukrainian territory, including the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.

His Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, made the negotiations on Ukraine conditional on Ukraine giving up areas occupied by Moscow’s troops, refusing to join NATO, and making demands unacceptable to Ukraine and its Western allies.

While the Kursk offensive has grabbed all the attention, most of the fighting continues in eastern Ukraine, where Russian troops maintain an initiative against the Ukrainian army that lacks troops and ammunition.

(With information from AFP and EuropaPress)