Putin's push: Reclaiming Kursk before Trump's inauguration
Vladimir Putin wants the Russian military to reclaim the part of the Kursk region of Russia taken by Ukrainian forces before Donald Trump's inauguration as President of the USA, writes the British newspaper "The Telegraph." In this way, he aims to strengthen his country's position before possible peace talks with Ukraine.
NATO countries believe that Putin hopes to reclaim territories taken by Ukrainian forces before Trump's scheduled inauguration on January 20th, according to "The Telegraph."
Earlier, "The New York Times" reported that for the planned counteroffensive, Russia had gathered over 50,000 soldiers in the Kursk region. Among them are units from North Korea.
The assessment by British military intelligence, as cited by "The Telegraph," states that in the coming days, Russia will likely intensify drone attacks on Ukrainian positions. So far, Russian forces have reclaimed about half of the territories taken by Ukrainians since the beginning of their operation in the Kursk region in August, the report adds.
According to Ukrainian analysts, the Kremlin may be planning to use the counteroffensive in the Kursk region to attack Ukraine in 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 reportedly advised the Russian leader not to escalate the conflict, and the conversation concerned "peace in Europe."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied media reports on Monday that Trump and Putin had had a phone conversation.
