Blinken calls Ukraine's operation in Kursk region 'important' for negotiations
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (Photo: Getty Images)
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, during his visit to South Korea, stated that the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region are crucial for future negotiations.
“Their position in Kursk is an important one because certainly it's something that would factor in any negotiation that may come about in the coming year,” Blinken told journalists in Seoul.
According to him, the administration of current US President Joe Biden aims to ensure that "Ukraine has the strongest possible hand to play."
Blinken noted that even in the event of negotiations, Ukraine would still require “adequate security assurances.” This is due to the fact that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will not consider the “game over.”
“His imperial ambitions remain, and what he will seek to do is to rest, refit, and eventually re-attack,” Blinken emphasized.
Despite this, he did not directly comment on the operations of Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region.
Situation in the Kursk region
It was reported that the Defense Forces launched an offensive in the Kursk region at the beginning of August 2024. At that time, Ukrainian forces controlled 100 settlements in the region and had captured nearly 600 Russian servicemen.
However, to regain control of this territory, Putin redeployed approximately 45,000 troops to the Kursk direction. As a result, in November, Ukraine lost about 40% of its territory in the Kursk region.
Recently, it became known that the Armed Forces of Ukraine attacked Russian positions in the Kursk region along several axes.
