President Vladimir Putin has decided on how to respond to Kiev’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region and everyone responsible will undoubtedly be punished, Moscow’s Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov told journalists on Thursday.
Earlier this month, Kiev launched its largest cross-border attack to date on Russia, sending in some of its best-equipped and most experienced soldiers in to Kursk Region in an attempt to seize Russian territory. The Ukrainian government has expressed hope that the operation will relieve pressure on its forces elsewhere on the front line, and strengthen Kiev’s position at eventual peace talks with Moscow.
However, Russia’s Defense Ministry has reported that the incursion has effectively been halted and, while Kiev’s troops still hold a number of territories in the region, they have been experiencing heavy casualties throughout the fighting. Moscow has estimated Ukrainian losses at some 4,700 servicemen as well as hundreds of pieces of heavy weaponry, including 68 tanks, since the start of the incursion.
Commenting on Moscow’s future steps in response to the invasion, the ambassador stated that president Putin has already “made a decision.” He also said that he is “firmly convinced that everyone will be severely punished for what happened in Kursk Region.”
Kiev has stated that it intends to create a “buffer zone” through its incursion into Russian territory. These plans have also been confirmed by Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh. Antonov, however, insisted that the Ukrainian operation will fail in establishing this zone.
“This is impossible. There will be no buffer zone on the territory of Russia,” the envoy stressed.
He also claimed that Washington could put an end to Kiev’s incursion into Kursk Region with “a snap of the fingers” but that it apparently doesn’t deem such a move “expedient or necessary.”
“I am firmly convinced that Kiev does nothing without an okay from its [Western] masters,”Antonov told TASS.
“Given how many advisers are around Zelensky, and what power is given to Zelensky’s regime, to say that [Washington] does not know about anything... [Kiev] simply would not dare to lift a finger, to point a machine gun in our direction without Washington’s consent! Or at least they wouldn’t be sure that any of their actions would be supported by Western countries,” the ambassador added.
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