Putin vows to expel Ukrainian troops who crossed the border

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday (12) that the army would expel Ukrainian troops from Russian sovereign territory after Kiev’s first cross-border incursion since the start of the war in 2022.

Ukrainian forces crossed the Russian border last Tuesday (6) and swept through some western parts of Russia’s Kursk region, a surprise attack that may be aimed at gaining leverage in possible ceasefire negotiations after the US elections in November.

Apparently caught by surprise, Russia had already stabilized the front in the Kursk region on Sunday (11), although Ukraine had conquered a slice of Russian territory where fighting continued on Monday, according to Russian war bloggers.

In the neighboring Belgorod region to the south, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said evacuations of civilians had begun in the Krasnaya Yaruga district due to “enemy activity on the border.”

Putin, in his most detailed remarks on the incursion to date, said Ukraine “with the help of its Western masters” was trying to improve its position ahead of possible ceasefire negotiations and undermine Russian advances.

Putin told security officials and regional governors that Ukrainian forces were suffering heavy casualties in their incursion.

“The enemy will certainly receive a worthy response and all the objectives we face will undoubtedly be achieved.”

Putin said Ukraine was trying to intimidate Russian society and thereby undermine stability. He warned senior officials that Ukraine would try to further destabilize the border regions.

At Putin’s meeting, Kursk’s acting governor, Alexei Smirnov, said Ukraine controlled 22 settlements in the region and that the incursion was about 12 km deep and 40 km wide.

Russia has imposed heightened security in the Kursk, Bryansk and Belgorod regions, while its ally Belarus said it was boosting troop levels on its border after Minsk said Ukraine had violated its airspace with drones.

Russian officials say Ukraine’s strikes on Russian territory are aimed at showing its Western backers that Kiev can still mount major military operations as it seeks to gain bargaining chips ahead of possible ceasefire talks.

Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and now controls 18% of Ukrainian territory. Russian forces, which have vast numerical superiority, have been advancing along the 1,000km front this year after Ukraine’s 2023 counteroffensive failed to make any major gains.

Kiev broke its silence on the attacks on Saturday when President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine had launched an incursion into Russian territory to “restore justice” and put pressure on Moscow’s forces.

Gas center

The Ukrainian attack has led some in Moscow to question why Ukraine was able to penetrate the Kursk region so easily, after more than two years of the most intense ground war in Europe since World War II.

Russian war bloggers said Ukrainian forces in Kursk were trying to encircle Sudzha, where Russian natural gas flows into Ukraine, while major battles were taking place near Korenevo, about 22 kilometers (14 miles) from the border, and Martynovka.

“The situation on the borders of the western Belgorod region is alarming,” said Yuri Podolyaka, an influential pro-Russian military blogger, adding that Ukraine was investigating a cross-border attack at several different points.

“The enemy has three fairly large groupings here.”

Although the United States said it had not been informed of the Ukrainian operation before it was launched, there were signs in Moscow that the attack would provoke a response from Russia.

“We have no doubt that the organizers and perpetrators of these crimes, including their foreign curators, will be held accountable for them,” said Maria Zakharova, a representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry.

“A tough response from the Russian Armed Forces will not be long in coming.”