Moscow refuses talks, Kiev claims it has made gains

KYIV – Russia ruled out any peace talks with Ukraine on Monday, even as Kiev increases pressure on the Kremlin by announcing new progress in its offensive on Russian territory.

Ukraine sent troops and tanks across the border on Aug. 6 in a surprise invasion, two and a half years after Russia launched its invasion, and says it is achieving new successes almost every day.

The biggest attack on Russian soil since World War II has shaken Russia and penetrated several kilometers deep into Russia’s Kursk region. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine now controls more than 1,250 square kilometers (480 square miles) and 92 settlements.

Zelensky said Ukraine was achieving its goals, which officials had previously said included increasing Russian forces, creating a “buffer zone” on Russian territory and seeking to end the war on “fair” terms.

In a speech to ambassadors, Zelensky called on partner countries to allow the use of long-range weapons deep inside Russia and stop Moscow’s expansion in the country’s east.

“Ukraine is only one decision away from stopping the Russian army’s advance on the frontline that we expect from our partners: a decision on long-range capabilities,” the president said.

He added that the delay was “support for Russia’s offensive” in eastern Donetsk Oblast.

According to Zelensky, the invasion of Kursk would not have been necessary if Ukraine had been able to use more powerful weapons to protect “citizens in the border areas.”

There was an insistence on peace talks

Zelensky confirmed that he had not informed his allies about the Kursk offensive in advance, claiming that they would oppose it.

“The whole naive, illusory concept of so-called red lines regarding Russia that dominated the assessment of the war by some partners has fallen apart” since Ukraine’s advance, he said.

The president called on diplomats to hold a second round of peace talks this year, saying: “We must force Russia, with all our strength and together with our partners, to make peace.”

However, Kremlin adviser Yuri Ushakov said the invasion of Ukraine had postponed the peace talks.

“At this stage, given this escapade, we will not talk,” he said.

Ushakov called entering the negotiation process “completely inappropriate” and said future talks “depend on the situation on the battlefield, including in the Kursk region.”

Moscow, seeking to maintain its offensive in eastern Ukraine, on Monday took control of another village in Donetsk.

Bracing for another attack, Ukraine ordered the evacuation of families from the key city of Pokrovsk as Moscow troops closed in on the logistical hub.

Kyiv Continues Offensive on Kursk

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine cede part of its territory if it wants a ceasefire.

Zelensky, who has ruled out direct talks with the Kremlin, is demanding Russia’s complete withdrawal from Ukrainian territory, including annexed Crimea, and reparations.

Meanwhile, Ukraine continued its offensive on Kursk.

A third bridge over the Sejm River in Russia was damaged this weekend, a Russian military investigator said in a video released by pro-Kremlin TV commentator Vladimir Solovyov.

As Russian military bloggers claim, this leaves Russia with limited supply options.

The invasion alarmed Russians and raised hopes among Kievans that the mood in Russia might turn away from the Kremlin’s war.

“Accustomed to watching the war as a television spectacle, Russians are now watching it up close and personal,” Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the Ukrainian president, told X.com.

“If you don’t want to see war, you have to end it by forcing your ‘leadership’ to make peace on fair terms,” ​​he added.