Blinken: Ukraine’s Positions in Russia’s Kursk Region Are Key to Future Negotiations

During his visit to South Korea on January 6, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the strategic importance of Ukrainian positions in Russia’s Kursk region for any potential future negotiations, as reported by Barron’s.

"Their [Ukraine’s] position in Kursk is an important one because certainly it's something that would factor in any negotiation that may come about in the coming year," Blinken told reporters in Seoul.

Blinken emphasized that even if negotiations occur, Ukraine would require "adequate security assurances" against Russian leader Vladimir Putin.

"There is going to be, at some point, a ceasefire. It's not going to be in Putin's mind 'game over'," Blinken said.

"His imperial ambitions remain, and what he will seek to do is to rest, refit, and eventually re-attack," Blinken warned, stressing the need for a strong deterrent to prevent such actions.

However, he did not directly comment on Ukrainian military operations in the Kursk region.

On December 14, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed that Russia had deployed North Korean soldiers for the first time to attack Ukrainian positions in Russia’s Kursk region.

Previously in the summer, Zelenskyy revealed that Ukrainian Defense Forces launched the Kursk incursion as a preemptive measure in order to disrupt Russian plans to capture Ukraine’s Kharkiv and Sumy regions.

On January 5, the Ukrainian Defense Forces launched strikes against Russian positions in the Kursk region, targeting multiple fronts and catching Russian troops off guard, according to Andrii Kovalenko, Head of the Center for Countering Disinformation.