Russian President Vladimir Putin continues to blame the West for making it harder to put down the Ukrainian rebels.
The Russian president told regional governors and defense officials on Monday that the Ukrainian military’s current military operation in the Kursk region will not affect the negotiations.
“The West is using Ukrainians’ hands to fight us,” Putin said at his home outside Moscow, The New York Times reported.
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Putin met with Acting Governor of the Kursk Region, Alexei Smirnov, via video link outside Moscow. (Sputnik/Gabriel Grigorov/Kremlin via Reuters)
“The enemy will get what they deserve and our objectives will undoubtedly be achieved,” he continued.
Ukraine launched an invasion of the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions last week, continuing an operation that began last Tuesday.
The incident has led to criticism of the Russian military command over intelligence and tactical shortcomings that allowed such an attack to take place.
Putin under pressure as Ukraine invasion continues, could give Kiev bargaining chip in peace talks: experts
Damaged houses are seen after what local authorities call an attack by Ukrainian forces in the town of Suzha in Russia’s Kursk region, during the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. (Acting Governor of Kursk Oblast Alexei Smirnov via Telegram/Distributed via Reuters)
“One of the enemy’s clear goals is to sow discord and conflict, intimidate the people and destroy the unity and cohesion of Russian society,” Putin told government officials in a video conference this week, The Moscow Times reported. “Of course, the main task of the Defense Ministry is to expel the enemy from our territory.”
Experts say the Ukrainian victory was the result of “unconventional” tactics that took the much larger Russian forces by surprise.
“Given the significant combat power differential in Russia’s favor on the battlefield, it seems likely that Ukrainian forces will switch to, or at least intensify, irregular warfare, taking the war deeper into Russian soil,” Rebecca Koffler, strategic military intelligence analyst and author of “Putin’s Playbook,” told Fox News Digital last week.
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Ukrainian soldiers from the Ukrainian Drone Corps prepare a Vampire drone for a mission in the direction of Kremina, Donetsk Region, Ukraine. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“With the recent surprise invasion of Kursk Oblast, President Zelenskyy is likely trying to show President Putin that Russians cannot rest in peace unless there is peace in Ukraine,” Kofler said. “Kiev is also likely trying to strengthen its position in peace negotiations with Moscow.”
About 121,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk region, including residents of the Belovsky and Krasnoyarzsky districts.
Ukraine has received tens of billions of dollars in weapons and resources from the West to counter Russian expansion through the remote conflict.
Fox News Digital’s Peter Aitken and Caitlin McFall contributed to this report.
