Putin: Ukraine wants to destabilize Russia with Kursk offensive

(Patria) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday that Ukraine is trying to undermine Russian stability with its incursion into the south of the country, but will not succeed, Reuters reported.

"The losses of the Ukrainian armed forces are increasing dramatically, including among the most prepared units, units that the enemy is transferring to our border," Putin said at a televised meeting with top security officials and regional governors.

"The enemy will certainly receive a worthy response, and all the goals set before us will, without a doubt, be achieved."

Putin said that Ukraine seems to be trying to improve its negotiating position in the war, but that there can be no talk of negotiations with an enemy he accused of targeting civilians in its operation in the Kursk region. He said that Ukraine is trying to slow down Russia's advance in other parts of the front, but that Russian forces are still advancing.

Ukraine has not publicly disclosed the goal of the operation, which caught Russia off guard after months of gradual Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.

Putin's comments were the most detailed to date since Ukraine carried out a shocking cross-border attack on August 6. They emerged with the aim of showing control over the situation and projecting confidence that the shock offensive will fail.

But Putin also told officials to be prepared for the situation to worsen 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 report on the situation submitted by the governor of Bryansk, another border region.

"Therefore, if the Bryansk region is relatively calm today, it does not mean that the same situation will remain tomorrow."

The governor of the Kursk region, speaking at the same meeting, said that Ukraine controls 28 settlements there and that its forces have advanced twelve kilometers into Russian territory.