MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Ukraine was trying to undermine Russian stability with its incursion into the south of the country but that it would not succeed.
“The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces are increasing dramatically for them, including among the most combat-ready units, units that the enemy is transferring to our border,” Putin told a televised meeting with top security officials and regional governors.
“The enemy will certainly receive a worthy response, and all the goals facing us will, without a doubt, be achieved.”
Putin said it appeared that Ukraine was trying to improve its negotiating position in the war, but that there could be no question of negotiations with an enemy he accused of targeting civilians in its operation in the Kursk region.
He said Ukraine was trying to slow Russia’s advance on other parts of the battle front, but that Moscow’s forces were still advancing.
Ukraine has not publicly disclosed the objective of the operation, which has caught Russia off guard after months of gradual Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.
Putin’s comments were the most detailed he has made so far since Ukraine staged its shock cross-border attack on Aug. 6.
They appeared aimed at demonstrating control of the situation and projecting confidence that the shock offensive would not succeed.
But Putin also told officials to be prepared for the situation to get worse before it gets better.
“The enemy will continue to try to destabilize the situation in the border zone, in order to shake up the internal political situation in our country,” he said in response to a situation report delivered by the governor of Bryansk, another border region.
“Therefore, if today the Bryansk region is relatively calm, this does not mean that the same situation will remain there tomorrow.”
The governor of Kursk region, addressing the same meeting, said Ukraine controlled 28 settlements there and that its forces had advanced 12 km (7.4 miles) into Russian territory.
Reuters could not independently confirm the battlefield situation.
(Reporting by Reuters, Writing by Mark Trevelyan; Editing by Alex Richardson and Angus MacSwan)
