Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Russia will not stop its offensive in eastern Ukraine even if it attacks its mainland territory.

According to TASS and AFP, President Putin made this claim while giving a public lecture at a school in Kyzyl, the capital of the Tuva Republic in Siberia, Russia, on the 2nd (local time), saying he was confident that Ukraine’s provocation attacking Kursk, a border city near Russia, would fail.

Russia has been fighting Ukrainian forces for nearly four weeks on its own territory in Kursk, but is also stepping up its offensive along the Donetsk front line and rapidly capturing villages near key Ukrainian strongholds.

“We must, of course, deal with the bandits who invade the Russian Federation and resolve attempts to create unrest in our border areas,” Putin said, also showing his intention to drive out Ukrainian troops from Kursk.

He reiterated that Ukraine’s Kursk provocation was doomed to failure, after which Russia’s enemies would engage in genuine peace negotiations.

(Photo = Yonhap News)

Reporter Lee Hwi-kyung ddehg@wowtv.co.kr