Putin rules out talks with Ukraine amid attacks on civilians, nuclear facilities

Russian President Vladimir Putin has said his country has no intention of engaging in dialogue with Ukrainian authorities who organise attacks on civilians and nuclear facilities in the Russian Federation.

“But what kind of negotiations can we talk about with people who indiscriminately strike at civilians, civilian infrastructure, or try to create threats to nuclear energy facilities?” Putin questioned during a meeting on the situation at the border with Ukraine, Caliber.Az reports, citing Russian media.

Putin also stated that the primary task at the moment is to expel the enemy. A video of the meeting has been published on the Kremlin's Telegram channel.

He demanded that reliable security be ensured along the border with Ukraine once the enemy is pushed back from Russian territory.

The president also promised that the events in the Russian regions bordering Ukraine would be thoroughly assessed.

Additionally, Putin stressed the need for an effective fight against sabotage and reconnaissance groups (SRGs) of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) as part of the counter-terrorism operation (CTO) in the border regions.

Putin added that the UAF attacked the Kursk region to strengthen their position in future negotiations.

The president further emphasized that by attacking a Russian region, Ukrainian authorities were following the will of their Western "masters," asserting that "the West is waging war against Russia using Ukrainians."

According to the latest information from foreign media, Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 30km inside Russia, in what has become the deepest and most significant incursion since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

While Ukrainian-backed sabotage groups have launched intermittent cross-border incursions, the Kursk offensive marks the biggest coordinated attack on Russian territory by Kyiv's conventional forces.

Russia's defence ministry, in an apparent admission that Kyiv's forces have now advanced deep into the Kursk border region, reported engaging Ukrainian troops near the villages of Tolpino and Obshchy Kolodez - which are about 25km and 30km from the Russia-Ukraine border.

Ukrainian troops have claimed to have captured a number of settlements in the Kursk region. In Guevo, a village about 3km inside Russia, soldiers filmed themselves removing the Russian flag from an administrative building.

Clips have also emerged of Ukrainian troops seizing administrative buildings in Sverdlikovo and Poroz, while intense fighting has been reported in Sudzha - a town of about 5,000 people.

Russia says 76,000 people have been evacuated from border areas in the Kursk region, where a state of emergency has been declared by local authorities.