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Offensive into Russia aimed at drawing Moscow into ‘fair talks’, says Ukraine

Comments by Zelenskiy aide come as Russia accuses western forces of involvement in Kursk incursion

Ukraine’s lightning offensive into several Russian border regions is designed to persuade Moscow to engage in “fair” talks about its war in Ukraine, an aide to Volodymyr Zelenskiy says.

The Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak wrote on the Telegram messaging app: “We need to inflict significant tactical defeats on Russia. In the Kursk region, we clearly see how the military tool is objectively used to convince the Russian Federation to enter into a fair negotiation process.”

Both sides were pushing ahead with their offensives on Friday, as Russian forces edged closer to the key city of Pokrovsk in Donetsk and Ukraine appeared to be consolidating its gains in Russia’s Kursk region.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/ar...ffensive-talks