Kremlin says ‘no dialogue’ with Ukraine after Kursk offensive

this Russia Claims that he will ‘Totally inappropriate to start a negotiation process’ At the same time, she declared a state of emergency in the town of Proletarsk affected by the epidemic Drones Ukrainians. Ukraine has ordered the evacuation of families from Pokrovsk and surrounding areas. Figaro On Monday, August 19, we took stock of the situation.

Kremlin says ‘no dialogue’ with Ukraine after Kursk offensive

Russia “Can’t speak” The Kremlin said on Monday it was holding talks with Ukraine after Kiev launched an offensive of unprecedented scale in the Kursk region on the Russian border nearly two weeks ago. “At this stage, given the risk, we are not discussing it”Vladimir Putin’s foreign policy adviser Yuri Ushakov told Russian media: “It is totally inappropriate to start a negotiation process at this time”he added.

Mykhaïlo Podoliak, Advisor to the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelenskysaid on Friday that one of the goals of the Kursk region offensive is to force Moscow into negotiations “Fair”If he repeats that sentence Kyiv Unintentional “occupied” He also pointed out that this is part of Russian territory and in the event of negotiations “Potential”We have to find a way to make Russia sit down. ‘On the other side of the table’. However, since the spring of 2022, negotiations between the two sides have been completely blocked, and Moscow has continuously demanded that Ukraine accept the annexation of part of its territory.

Vladimir Zelensky said he wanted to develop a plan before the November presidential election in the United States, a key ally of Kyiv, as the basis for a future peace summit, to which the Kremlin would have to be invited. He reiterated that peace would only be possible with the complete withdrawal of Russian troops, including from the Crimean Peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014. Vladimir Putin has demanded that Kyiv cede the Ukrainian regions he wants annexed and give up joining NATO. These are unacceptable demands for Ukrainians and Westerners, who continue to call for respect for international law.

READ ALSOWhile Ukraine takes root in the Kursk region, Russia pushes toward Pokrovsk

Ukraine declares state of emergency after drone attack on Russian city

Fighting of a fire that broke out at an industrial site in the Rostov region on Sunday morning continued on Monday, the Proletarsk regional government said on Telegram. She added that the state of emergency was imposed at midnight local time (9 p.m. GMT on Sunday). Regional authorities have declared a state of emergency in the southwestern Russian town of Proletarsk after a Ukrainian drone strike on Sunday set fuel stockpiles on fire and injured at least 18 firefighters.

The region’s governor, Vasily Goloubev, said on Telegram that 18 firefighters had to be treated by doctors, including four who were hospitalized for burns. Additional resources have been sent to control the fire, the source said. “Under very difficult conditions caused by the high temperatures”The day before, the governor said the fire was caused by falling debris. “Air defence system repelled drone attack”it is clear that no one was injured.

A source in Ukraine’s military intelligence service (GUR) confirmed to AFP on Sunday that drones had attacked the Caucasus fuel and oil product storage facility in Proletarsk. According to the source, the installation provided “Military-Industrial Complex” Russian.

Target oil and gas installations

Proletarsk is a city of nearly 20,000 residents, about 200 kilometers from the Ukrainian border and about 350 kilometers from the Kiev-controlled combat zone on the eastern front of Ukraine.

Since the conflict began in 2022, Kiev has repeatedly targeted oil and gas facilities in Russia, some of which are hundreds of kilometers from its border, in its so-called “justice” The drone strikes come as Ukraine launches nearly two weeks of unprecedented cross-border offensives in Russia’s Kursk region, where it claims control of more than 80 districts.

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Ukraine orders families in Pokrovsk and surrounding areas to evacuate

Ukraine on Monday ordered the evacuation of families with children from Pokrovsk and surrounding areas as Russian troops continued their advance towards the strategic city in eastern Ukraine. “We began the compulsory evacuation of families with children from the Pokrovsk settlement (…) The decision to evacuate was necessary and unavoidable when our city was within range of almost all enemy weapons”Donetsk region governor Vadim Filachykin explained on social networks.

The town, not far from the front line in eastern Ukraine, is home to more than 53,000 people, including nearly 4,000 children, the governor said on Telegram. Pokrovsk sits at the intersection of a main road that supplies Ukraine’s main garrison on the eastern front and has long been a target of Russian forces. On Sunday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it had captured the town of Sviridovka, about 15 kilometers from Pokrovsk.

Sergiy Dobryak, head of the Pokrovsk Military Administration, warned last week that Russia was just over 10 kilometers from the city’s outskirts and urged remaining residents to evacuate. In another part of the region, Moscow claimed on Monday to have captured the town of Zalizne, which is very close to the town of Toretsk, another target of Kremlin forces. Despite the Ukrainian offensive in Russia’s Kursk region, Russian forces, which are more numerous and better equipped, have continued to advance on the eastern front in recent days.