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Russian President Vladimir Putin promised to “kick the enemy out” of his country’s territory after it emerged that Ukrainian troops were in control of dozens of Russian villages and large swathes of land a week into Kyiv’s surprise cross-border incursion.
The scale of the incursion became clearer on Monday when Putin held a meeting with local officials from the border regions as well as some of Russia’s top security, government and law enforcement personnel.
The acting head of the Kursk region, Aleksey Smirnov, told Putin that 28 settlements in his region were now under Ukrainian control, adding that Ukrainian troops had managed to advance some 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) into the territory across a 25-mile (40-kilometer) wide stretch of the border.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Monday that some 386 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) of Russian territory were now under Ukrainian control.
Putin said the incursion was an attempt by Ukraine to “improve its negotiation position.”
“But what kind of negotiations can we even talk about with people who indiscriminately strike at civilians, at civilian infrastructure, or try to create threats to nuclear power facilities. What can we even talk about with them?” Putin said.
The scale of the incursion became clearer on Monday when Putin held a meeting with local officials from the border regions as well as some of Russia’s top security, government and law enforcement personnel.
The acting head of the Kursk region, Aleksey Smirnov, told Putin that 28 settlements in his region were now under Ukrainian control, adding that Ukrainian troops had managed to advance some 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) into the territory across a 25-mile (40-kilometer) wide stretch of the border.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said on Monday that some 386 square miles (1,000 square kilometers) of Russian territory were now under Ukrainian control.
Putin said the incursion was an attempt by Ukraine to “improve its negotiation position.”
“But what kind of negotiations can we even talk about with people who indiscriminately strike at civilians, at civilian infrastructure, or try to create threats to nuclear power facilities. What can we even talk about with them?” Putin said.
