Bloomberg Names What Brings Russia Closer to Peace Talks

Bloomberg named what brings Russia closer to peace talks Margarita Voloshina

After the start of the Kursk operation in August 2024, in which Ukrainian troops took control of part of Russian territory, dictator Vladimir Putin declared that the main task of the country's defense department was to repel the offensive of the Defense Forces.

On Thursday, February 6, six months had already passed since the operation, but the Russians still cannot complete the task, which could affect the potential negotiation process. This was reported by 24 Channel with reference to Bloomberg.

What is prompting Russia to negotiate

Bloomberg writes that while Russian troops continue to gradually advance on the battlefield in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv is preserving the Kursk region as a trump card for a potential exchange of territories in any possible negotiations with Moscow.

Putin's failure to expel the Ukrainian army from Russian territory may take on additional significance as US President Donald Trump insists on concluding an agreement to end the war, the article says.

It is noted that the first crossing of the Russian border in this way since World War II is a “personal failure for Putin”, since his domestic image is built on the fact that he is a strong leader who supposedly protects the interests of the nation.

The head of the Petersburg Politics Foundation, Mikhail Vinogradov, believes that, in general, the effectiveness of military operations is lower than expected. According to him, the system was not particularly prepared – neither for the loss of territory, nor for the fact that everything would drag on.

Journalists note that the military actions cover a small area of ​​the Kursk region. However, the Ukrainian offensive in a region with a population of about a million people was shocking for Russians, who in the third year of a full-scale war felt the consequences of the invasion.

Putin has to set priorities

Russian officials estimate that about 150,000 people in the Kursk region have fled their homes because of the fighting. Hundreds of people reportedly rallied in Kursk in January, complaining that not enough was being done to help them.

In turn, Nikolai Petrov, a consultant at the London-based think tank Chatham House, noted that the Kremlin views the Kursk region as a “regional problem, not a national one,” so, as he explains, Russians “have no hurry.”

Despite the fact that the Kursk operation did not stop Russia's advance in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin has sent thousands of troops to try to push Ukrainian forces out of the region. At the same time, Donald Trump is using threats of sanctions to pressure Vladimir Putin if he refuses the peace agreement.

The publication notes that Russia has made it clear that its strategy is to continue the offensive to pressure Ukraine and the United States so that the countries agree to Moscow's terms. At the same time, officials say that Russia can wage war for another 2-3 years.

Putin has to set priorities, since his forces are exhausted, and he seems to be more focused on achieving in Ukraine than on recapturing territory in the Kursk region, says Bota Ilijas, a senior analyst at the London-based strategic intelligence company Prisma.

By the way, according to the General Staff, the enemy's total losses in this area over this period of time amount to about 40 thousand people, almost half of them killed. The total losses of the North Korean contingent, according to the Ukrainian military, amount to about 4 thousand people.