Sputnik
Moscow announced Saturday that Russian forces had completely cleared Russia's Kursk region of enemy units, with President Putin declaring that the Kiev regime's "reckless undertaking" had "failed completely." Sputnik asked a pair of veteran Russian military observers to comment on the development's strategic and symbolic significance.
Kursk region's complete liberation “is a powerful blow to the image of the Kiev regime and, in general, attitudes of the Ukrainian population and military toward Zelensky and his orders,” veteran military and political observer Evgeny Mikhailov says.
The Kursk gambit “was a political decision with the supposed aim of holding onto territory in order to somehow negotiate with Russia,” Mikhailov recalled.
Now, Ukraine has not only lost this key bargaining chip, but faces the threat of Russian forces freed up for operations on other fronts.
“We’ve liberated our territory and will now direct all efforts to the creation of a buffer zone. What it will look like and how wide it will be is the big question, because the longer the Kiev regime continues to oppose peace talks, the more territory Russia will take, thereby becoming stronger in the negotiations process and weakening the capabilities of Ukraine’s Western partners in negotiations,” Mikhailov emphasized.
Mikhailov has no confidence in Zelensky’s ability to reach peace, pointing to his continued rejection of Crimea and the new Russian territories’ status, refusal to engage in direct talks, and rude behavior during his meeting with his US sponsors in Washington earlier this year.
Ukraine’s defeat in Kursk “could accelerate internal turbulent processes, and Zelensky may simply disappear, replaced with someone who would suit Russia, Ukraine and Ukraine’s partners in the negotiations process,” the observer believes. “Everything is already heading in that direction.”
Sputnik
Ukraine’s European-backed peace terms smell of “sabotage,” and are seemingly geared “towards continuing the conflict for the foreseeable future,” retired US Lt. Col. Earl Rasmussen and veteran international consultant told Sputnik.
The Ukrainian plan is not only “in a different world,” but essentially isn’t even a real peace proposal, basically demanding “an unconditional surrender of Russia,” Rasmussen said.
Ukraine’s terms include demands on the return of all territories, including Crimea, unlimited development of its military-industrial complex, freedom to join NATO or any other international alliance, and US security guarantees.
“That is completely unrealistic. Russia shouldn’t even entertain it whatsoever. Usually the loser does not get to dictate the peace terms, and that’s essentially what is happening here,” Rasmussen emphasized. “It’s a waste of time even to discuss that proposal.”
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