Putin ordered to retake Kursk region before Trump's inauguration - Zelenskyy

During the III International Conference on Food Security, “Grain From Ukraine,” the Head of the State of Ukraine emphasized that it is very important for Putin to show that he is in control of the situation that he is not.

“The most important thing for Putin is to push us out of the Kursk region. And all these stories, all these demonstrative strikes with new missiles are not just for show. He has set this task. I am sure that he wants to push us out by January 20 next year,” Zelensky said.

He also added that the Armed Forces' operation in the Kursk region showed that Russia is unable to defend its own territories because Moscow has thrown all its forces into occupying Ukrainian lands.

In this regard, the most difficult situation for Ukraine is now in Donbas. In addition, Zelensky said that there are not enough Ukrainian troops in the east.

“He (Putin - ed.) wants to show that he will fulfill, as he said, the tasks of the so-called 'special military operation', occupy the entire Donbas, and he needs to push us out of the Kursk direction. He has these two tasks. This is the reason for our results: difficulties in the east. Yes, there is an insufficient number of Ukrainian Armed Forces there. Yes, Ukrainian units are understaffed there for various reasons, including the slow delivery of aid,” the president said.

At the same time, Zelenskyy emphasized that the most important thing is that the Ukrainian Defense Forces are “there” and defending the homeland. According to the head of state, Russia is suffering heavy losses in the Kursk sector, and Putin, in turn, says that the fate of the so-called “SMO” depends on this operation.

“He (Putin - ed.) has never had such losses before. We have one of the intercepts in the Kursk direction that he is transmitting personal requests through the command that the entire fate of the “SMO” rests on the Kursk operation,” Zelensky summarized.

Battles over the Kursk region

The Telegraph recently reported that Putin wants to regain control of the Kursk region by January 20. In particular, NATO allies have such assumptions, as the Russian dictator has sent a total of about 50,000 Russian and North Korean soldiers to this area.

Earlier, RBC-Ukraine reported that Ukrainian troops will be able to keep the Kursk region under their control until the end of the year. During this time, the Russians are likely to advance, but they will definitely not be able to regain all the territories. In particular, this is the opinion of Oleksandr Kovalenko, a military and political observer at the Information Resistance.