The operation in the Kursk region stopped the agreement on the cessation of strikes on energy

Impact on the energy facility. / Photo: Associated Press

Ukraine and Russia allegedly held secret negotiations on concluding an agreement on mutual cessation of attacks on energy infrastructure, but the operation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kursk region disrupted these plans.

The French publication Le Monde writes about this with reference to its own sources.

As the journalists note, the agreement was supposed to mean a «partial ceasefire that will provide a reprieve for both countries.» The idea arose after the first Peace Summit in Switzerland, when Qatar allegedly offered to hold energy talks where Russia and Ukraine could achieve «concrete, tangible results.» The talks were supposed to take place at the end of August in Doha, the capital of Qatar, but they were postponed due to the Ukrainian operation.

However, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mariia Zakharova denied the existence of such negotiations, stating that «Russia does not conduct any direct or indirect negotiations on the safety of civilian objects of critical infrastructure.»

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It will be recalled that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the offensive of Ukrainian troops on the Kursk region of Russia was a «preemptive strike» to avoid the encirclement of Ukrainian units and the occupation of the city of Sumy.

Operation in the Kursk region

The Russian side claims that on August 6, the Ukrainian military tried to break through the border and gain a foothold in the Sudzhanskyi and Korenevskyi districts of the Kursk region.

On August 12, the governor of the region, Oleksii Smirnov, reported to the leader of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, that 28 settlements in the Kursk region «are under the control of the enemy.»

On the evening of August 12, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the operation in the Kursk region. According to him, this was necessary to ensure the security of the border areas from the Russian military.

The spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heorhii Tyhyi, said that Ukraine is not interested in taking the territories of the Kursk region of Russia. Currently, Ukraine is protecting its citizens, who are being fired upon by the Russian military from the territory of this region.

We will remind that in the Kursk region, on August 14, special forces of the Security Service of Ukraine captured 102 soldiers of the 488th Guards Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Armed Forces of Russia and the special unit «Akhmat». It is noted that this is the largest capture of the enemy, which was carried out at one time.

Also, according to local media reports, six Russian soldiers were captured by the Armed Forces, and the Russian Telegram channel «VChK-OGPU» claims that the Chechen special forces «Akhmat» stationed on the border have left their positions, and 15 soldiers were injured.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Oleksandr Syrskyi reported that as of August 14, the Defense Forces of Ukraine destroyed the enemy in the city of Sudzha, Kursk Region of the Russian Federation. More than 100 Russian soldiers have been taken prisoner, the defense operation continues.

On August 15, representatives of Ukraine and the Russian Federation begin negotiations on the exchange of prisoners of war in the Kursk region.