“The enemy will certainly receive a worthy response, and all the goals facing us will undoubtedly be achieved,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday, ordering security services to conduct a “counterterrorist operation” in the region.
Pro-Kremlin Russian media have repeatedly accused the Ukrainian army of targeting civilians, including a drone strike on an ambulance that killed its driver and one paramedic and wounded another. There have also been reports that Ukrainian soldiers opened fire on cars in the village of Kurilovka, fatally wounding a pregnant woman, and took captive volunteers who were helping evacuate civilians...“Western countries are sincerely attempting to say, ‘We weren’t involved. We didn’t greenlight this.’ This is an obvious lie. It’s clear that this operation wasn’t organised by Zelenskyy or his headquarters. This operation was developed by NATO specialists. Their signature style is clearly evident. Quite many mercenaries are also involved as well as units that were safeguarded until now. The quantity of Western equipment is unprecedented for this sort of a task.”
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Roman Shkurlatov told the newspaper Izvestia that “the enemy may have several goals. The first is to show their Western sponsors and curators that the Ukrainian Armed Forces can not only retreat, but also produce some results. They have been retreating and suffering defeats for months. They need a small tactical victory like air [to breathe]. The second probable goal is an attempt to stake out a foothold in the territory of Kursk Oblast for subsequent bargaining in these or other negotiations. The third is an attempt to force us to pull reserves near Kursk, exposing other directions. But they will clearly not succeed in this. We have enough unused reserves.”
Pro-Kremlin Russian media have repeatedly accused the Ukrainian army of targeting civilians, including a drone strike on an ambulance that killed its driver and one paramedic and wounded another. There have also been reports that Ukrainian soldiers opened fire on cars in the village of Kurilovka, fatally wounding a pregnant woman, and took captive volunteers who were helping evacuate civilians...“Western countries are sincerely attempting to say, ‘We weren’t involved. We didn’t greenlight this.’ This is an obvious lie. It’s clear that this operation wasn’t organised by Zelenskyy or his headquarters. This operation was developed by NATO specialists. Their signature style is clearly evident. Quite many mercenaries are also involved as well as units that were safeguarded until now. The quantity of Western equipment is unprecedented for this sort of a task.”
Retired Lieutenant Colonel Roman Shkurlatov told the newspaper Izvestia that “the enemy may have several goals. The first is to show their Western sponsors and curators that the Ukrainian Armed Forces can not only retreat, but also produce some results. They have been retreating and suffering defeats for months. They need a small tactical victory like air [to breathe]. The second probable goal is an attempt to stake out a foothold in the territory of Kursk Oblast for subsequent bargaining in these or other negotiations. The third is an attempt to force us to pull reserves near Kursk, exposing other directions. But they will clearly not succeed in this. We have enough unused reserves.”
