Putin's race to reclaim Kursk: A pre‑Trump strategy drive
The British newspaper The Telegraph reports that Vladimir Putin wants the Russian military to retake parts of the Kursk region occupied by Ukrainian forces before Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the USA. This move aims to strengthen Russia's position before potential peace talks with Ukraine.
NATO countries believe that Putin hopes to reclaim the territories occupied by Ukrainian forces before Trump's inauguration, scheduled for January 20th, reports "The Telegraph."
Earlier, "The New York Times" reported that Russia gathered over 50,000 troops in the Kursk region to prepare for the planned counteroffensive. North Korean units are also among them.
Citing British military intelligence assessments, "The Telegraph" states that Russia is likely to intensify drone attacks on Ukrainian positions in the coming days. So far, Russian forces have retaken about half of the territories occupied by Ukrainians since the operation began in the Kursk region in August, it adds.
According to Ukrainian analysts, the Kremlin may be planning to use the counteroffensive in the Kursk region to launch an attack on Ukraine towards the Sumy direction, in the northeast of the country.
Kremlin denies: There were no talks with Trump
On Sunday, the "Washington Post" reported that US President-elect Donald Trump had a phone conversation with Vladimir Putin. Trump is said to have advised the Russian leader not to escalate the conflict, and the conversation was allegedly about "peace in Europe."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refuted these media reports on Monday, stating that Trump and Putin did not have a phone conversation.
