Putin Criticizes Ukraine's Failed Kursk Incursion

Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced Ukraine's Kursk incursion, describing it as a failed attempt to slow Russia's advance in Donbas. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum, Putin stated that the attack had merely weakened Ukrainian forces, enabling Russia to accelerate its eastern offensive.

Russian President Vladimir Putin denounced Ukraine's Kursk incursion on Thursday, describing it as a failed attempt to impede Russia's progress in the Donbas region.

In what is considered the most significant foreign attack on Russian territory since World War Two, thousands of Ukrainian soldiers breached the Russian border on August 6, aided by drones, heavy weaponry, and some Western-made artillery. Speaking at the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Putin asserted that by reallocating large, well-trained units into Russia, Ukraine had weakened its forces along other fronts, allowing Russia to accelerate its offensive in eastern Ukraine.

He emphasized that it was Russia's 'sacred duty' to repel the invaders, noting that Russian forces were beginning to push Ukrainian troops out of Kursk and had successfully advanced on the eastern Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk.

(With inputs from agencies.)