Russia is currently trying to drive Ukrainian troops out of its territory, after thousands of residents in the border areas were evacuated following a new Ukrainian offensive.
Ukrainian forces breached the Russian border and pushed into parts of the Kursk regionNow, Ukrainian troops control 28 settlements in the area, said Alexei Smirnov, the acting governor of Kursk.
The authorities of Russia quote that the shelling of Kursk by Ukraine has left twelve civilians dead and 121 injured.
Also, evacuations are ordered in the Belgorod region—Krasnoyaruzhsky district—because of increased military activity on the Ukrainian border.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that the operation in the Kursk region was for security in Ukraine and areas from where the Russian attack was launched earlier needed to be secured.
To this, the Russian President said that such actions of Ukraine would be responded to with a "suitable response." He added that the Russian military will ensure that the prime objective is to drive the Ukrainian forces out of their territory.
The Russian President also claimed that this act by Ukraine was not only against Russia itself but, internally, it was intended to destabilize it for possible future bargaining and other negotiations. However, Putin ruled out the possibility since Ukraine is bombing civilians and nuclear sites in Russia.
The two nations have also traded accusations over a blaze at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant that is still in Russian hands. Firefighters managed to put out the fire but not before it damaged a cooling tower.
Putin explained that the Kursk incident sheds light on why Kiev does not want to consider peace proposals coming from Moscow and other intermediaries.
He said that Russia should be forced down the path of peace if President Putin is hell-bent on continuing the war.
He further said that military operations of Russia increased manifold after the Kursk events. He further went on to say that Ukrainian losses have increased manifold in recent times including elite units being sent to the Russian border.
According to the Ministry of Defense of Russia, since February, the losses among servicemen of Ukraine have reached more than 1,610, with 32 tanks lost during this period in the Kursk region.
Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi stated that Ukrainian forces occupy nearly 1,000 square kilometers of territory of the Russian Federation.
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