Portnikov predicts whether the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to gain a foothold in the Kursk region and whether Putin will dare to negotiate. Video

Ukraine's armed forces are quite capable of not only advancing but also gaining a foothold in the Kursk region. However, this fact is unlikely to force Russian dictator Vladimir Putin to enter into peace talks.

This is the opinion of Ukrainian publicist, writer, and journalist Vitalii Portnikov. Moreover, as he told OBOZ.UA, even the loss of other Russian border regions along with the Kursk region will not affect the Kremlin leader.

Today, the dictator of the aggressor country has no resources either to defend the Kursk region or to increase pressure on the fronts in Ukraine, Portnikov said. Thus, Ukraine's plan, which is called "stretching the front," has been quite successful. And this allows the Ukrainian Armed Forces to gain a foothold in Russian territory.

"Of course, the Armed Forces can already gain a foothold. Because if commandant's offices are being set up, it means that we already control part of the Kursk region," he said.

However, the assumption that Ukraine needs Kursk land for the sake of "territory exchange" is false.

"I do not believe in this. I don't think Putin will change any territories. I do not believe in any negotiations or peace, nor do I believe that this will create any better conditions for Ukraine to negotiate. Moreover, I think that in this Putin has found another reason to refuse any negotiations with Ukraine in the foreseeable future," Portnikov said.

"Even if Ukrainian troops occupy not only Kursk but also Bryansk and Belgorod – let's imagine that they did – all the people who will be moving from these areas will not go anywhere beyond the borders of this mini-state, an eighth-grade state. So as not to spoil the mood of the residents of other regions of the Russian Federation," he said, adding that Russia already has the relevant experience, which was the case in the North Caucasus.

As a reminder, the US President, in his first comment on the Ukrainian Defense Forces' operation in Russia, said that Ukraine's unexpected offensive "creates a real dilemma" for the Kremlin dictator. He did not explain his words, but it is clear that the dilemma is that "everything is not going according to the Russian scenario."

As reported by OBOZ.UA, the State Department said that Washington is not involved in planning the offensive of the Armed Forces in the Kursk region of Russia. The role of the United States is to support Kyiv in the defense of the state. Earlier, the US said that the Ukrainian operation in Russia was aimed at self-defense.

That's why the White House advised Putin to withdraw his occupation troops from Ukraine if he was concerned about the situation in Kursk.

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