Putin supports Kamala Harris, says Ukraine incursion failed to slow Russia’s advance
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Ukraine’s gamble to seize his country's territory has backfired by boosting his own military's advance, a boast he paired with a teasing claim of support for Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. election.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Thursday that Ukraine’s gamble to seize his country's territory has backfired by boosting his own military's advance, a boast he paired with a teasing claim of support for Vice President Kamala Harris in the upcoming U.S. election.
Speaking at an economic forum in the far-eastern city of Vladivostok on Thursday, he said it was the “sacred duty” of the Russian army to do everything to “throw the enemy out” of the border region of Kursk and protect its citizens after last month's stunning assault.
Yet, Putin also said that Moscow's main goal remained capturing the Donbas region, Ukraine's eastern industrial heartland where Russian troops have been pushing forward for months.
Putin delivered a speech to the annual gathering in the far-eastern port city.Alexandr Kryazhev / Sputnik via APThe goal of the Kursk operation was to make Russia “nervous and fidgety,” Putin said, forcing Moscow to transfer troops from key areas of the battlefield and stop its advance, particularly in the Donbas — composed of the neighboring Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
“Were they successful?” Putin asked rhetorically about Ukraine's offensive. “No. The enemy has failed.”
Rating: 5