Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, has stated that Ukraine’s recent surprise cross-border incursion into the Russian region of Kursk was a “military tool” that could be used “to persuade” Russia to enter “a fair negotiation process.”
In a post on X, he said that there was a need to inflict tactical defeats on Russia to coerce them to start negotiating an end to the war.
He added that the incursion was to influence “public opinion within Russia, which is beginning to change when the war has come deep into their territory.”
Also, Podolyak iterated that Ukraine is not interested in occupying Russian territories but is instead “waging an exclusively defensive war strictly within the framework of international law.”
Since August 6, 2024, Ukrainian forces have reportedly occupied dozens of villages and hamlets on more than 1,000 square kilometres (386 square miles) and captured Russian servicemen.
The Head of the Security Service of Ukraine, Vasyl Maliuk, disclosed that Kyiv is thinking of how to make the most of the captives to bring home their own fighters held by Russia.
Russian Presidential Aide Claims Western Involvement In Ukraine’s Incursion Into Kursk
In an interview, Russian presidential aide, Nikolay Patrushev claimed NATO and Western special services’ involvement in Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s borderline region of Kursk.
“It was the West who brought the criminal junta to power in Ukraine. NATO countries sent weapons and military instructors to Ukraine, they continue to provide them with intelligence data and they control actions of neo-Nazi groups.
“The operation in the Kursk Region was also planned with the participation of NATO and Western special services.”
Nikolay Patrushev
“This criminal undertaking was prompted by the neo-Nazi Kiev regime’s realization of its looming imminent collapse,” the official added.
Patrushev dismissed the US Department of State’s claims of non-involvement into the matter.
“It’s common for the United States to say one thing and do just the opposite. Without their participation and direct endorsement, Kiev would have never dared to set its foot on the Russian territory.”
Nikolay Patrushev
Separately, Dmitry Birichevsky, Director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department of Economic Cooperation, said that Moscow does not seek a geopolitical war with Western countries, only that its interests be respected.
“As for us, we don’t discriminate against Western businessmen; we work with them, maintain dialogue and help them integrate into the current system of relations in the country,” he pointed out at a Valdai Discussion Club event on sanctions against Russia.
“Thank God, every investor is important to us,” he added.
“Then again, we are in no mood for a war of values or a geopolitical war. We just want others to respect us and take our security and sovereign development interests into account. That’s all. If this is done, we will continue to make agreements as equal partners.”
Dmitry Birichevsky
Birichevsky emphasized that Russia had been able to build strong political, economic and cultural ties with the countries of the Global South and those ties did not depend on the situation.
“This is the foundation that the new world will be built upon.
“I believe that at some point, the West will also come to the conclusion that we all should cooperate as equals instead of imposing solutions and values on each other; we should cooperate in areas where it is pragmatically beneficial, without looking at politics.”
Dmitry Birichevsky
