A senior Ukrainian official admitted that the Ukrainian army's operation in Kursk region did not change the war situation.
In an interview with Le Monde, Alexander Litvinenko said that “unfortunately, the Russians have enough reserves to advance to Pokrovsk”. Litvinenko heads Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, which is under the direct management of Volodymyr Zelensky and aims to coordinate the work of the various security and foreign policy services.
„The purpose of the operation was to prevent an invasion of the Sumy region, to irritate [Vladimir] Putin and boost Ukrainian morale. It continues and now depends on the skills of our military. I have complete trust in them. Unfortunately, the Russians have enough reserves to advance on Pokrovsk [in the Donetsk region]. It didn't change the situation, but it was a significant success," Litvinenko said.
According to military experts, one of the main goals of the invasion of the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region on August 6 was sabotage – to divert Russian troops from eastern Ukraine to Kursk. However, the Kremlin is prioritizing Donbas, where Russian soldiers are advancing slowly but methodically on the front and are already close to the strategically important city of Pokrovsk.
When asked if, in the current context, Russia is ready for negotiations with Kiev, Litvinenko replied: “Russia is not ready for substantial negotiations. The problem is getting Putin to the negotiating table. The Russians have a different strategic culture from the West. You can only speak to them from a position of strength. That is why we must help ourselves defeat Russia by arming ourselves. Otherwise, the war will continue in other territories“.
When asked what stage Ukraine has reached in purging Russian agents from its institutions, Litvinenko said: “A purge was carried out. This is the responsibility of the SBU [Security Service of Ukraine]. It took a lot of work because Russia has been working against us for 33 years, since independence. The Kursk operation showed that Ukraine could organize large-scale operations against the Russians. If one of their agents had found out, everything would have been different. Of course there are still Russian agents, but they are much fewer.