KYZYL, September 2. /TASS/. Kiev’s act of provocation against Russia’s borderline Kursk Region will end in failure, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.
"I am confident that this act of provocation will also fail," the head of state noted at a meeting with students at School No. 20 in Kyzyl, the capital of Russia’s Siberian region of Tuva.
"We certainly need to do away with the thugs that have intruded into Russian territory in the Kursk Region, and address attempts to create instability in our border regions in general," Putin stated.
Reasons behind provocation
The president gave his assessment as to why the Kiev authorities decided to attack the Kursk Region. "The current authorities aren’t legitimate even according to domestic laws. They were supposed to hold a presidential election but they abandoned this idea, citing martial law, which runs counter to the Ukrainian constitution," Putin noted.
In his view, Ukraine needs to continue military operations to keep the current status quo. "If military operations come to an end, the Ukrainian authorities will have to lift martial law and hold a presidential election right after martial law is lifted," Putin explained. "However, the current authorities clearly aren’t ready to do that because they have little chance of being re-elected. This is why they aren’t interested in ending military activities; this is why they committed the act of provocation in the Kursk Region and had earlier tried to stage a similar provocation in the Belgorod Region," the Russian president stressed.
He added that the Kursk attack was also meant to stop the Russian advance in Donbass. "The enemy sought to stop our advance on the main frontline, that is, in Donbass," the president said.
Donbass advance
"Everyone knows what the result was. Yes, of course, our people are going through tough times, particularly in the Kursk Region, but the enemy has failed to achieve its main goal, which was to stop our advance in Donbass," the Russian president emphasized.
"Moreover, we are no longer talking about advancing by 200 to 300 meters," the head of state stressed.
"We haven’t been advancing at such a quick pace in Donbass for quite a while: the Russian Armed Forces are taking control of not just 200 to 300 meters but of whole square kilometers of land," Putin noted.