Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, Moscow has claimed its forces have retaken the Kursk region, but Kyiv has denied any such gains. Meanwhile, a top Russian military official has admitted for the first time to deploying North Koreans into Ukraine.
Newsweek reached out to the Pentagon and U.S. State Department by email outside of normal business hours on Saturday afternoon.
Why It Matters
Negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on a potential peace deal have grown increasingly frayed over the past few weeks, starting with a major blow-up in the Oval Office between President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and culminated this week in Trump suggesting the United States would walk away from talks between the warring nations if a deal did not soon materialize.
However, Trump engaged in a surprise sideline conversation with Zelensky at the funeral of Pope Francis in Rome on Saturday, reviving hopes of a push towards a real conclusion to the conflict.
Trump posted pictures of his meeting, in which he and Zelensky sat alone in an intimate conversation in St. Peter’s Basilica, to his account on Truth Social and urged an end to the “cruel and senseless war.”
Trump took aim at Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday in a Truth Social post about the war, saying the Kremlin leader may need to “be dealt with differently.”
“There was no reason for Putin to be shooting missiles into civilian areas, cities and towns, over the last few days. It makes me think that maybe he doesn’t want to stop the war, he’s just tapping me along, and has to be dealt with differently, through ‘Banking’ or ‘Secondary Sanctions?’ Too many people are dying!!!” the president wrote.
What To Know
Putin declared on Saturday that his forces had liberated the Kursk region from Ukrainian forces and helped to bring “the defeat of the neo-Nazi regime closer,” Russian news outlet Tass reported.
“The enemy’s complete rout in the borderline Kursk Region creates conditions for further successful operations by our troops in other major frontline areas and brings the defeat of the neo-Nazi regime closer,” Putin said during a meeting with his Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov.
“The Kiev regime’s venture has failed completely while the huge losses suffered by the enemy, in particular, those among the most combat-fit, best prepared and equipped Ukrainian army units, including the formations provided with Western equipment – and these are assault units and special operations forces – will undoubtedly have their impact along the entire engagement line,” the Russian leader said.
Ukraine invaded the Kursk region in the summer of 2024 in a surprise push that led to the capture of Russian territory by a foreign power for the first time in decades. Putin avoided discussing the matter for months until his claim to have retaken the territory.
However, Ukraine has disputed this report and pushed back on Putin’s narrative, according to The Kyiv Independent.
“Ukrainian defensive operations in certain areas of Kursk Oblast continue,” Ukraine’s General Staff of the Armed Forces said in a press release. “The situation is difficult, but our units continue to hold certain positions and carry out tasks as assigned.”
Ukrainian forces face no threat of encirclement, with a military source telling The Kyiv Independent that their forces still hold Kursk.
Putin’s comments, especially the use of “neo-Nazi” to describe Zelensky’s administration, come just two weeks ahead of the annual “Victory Day” celebration in Russia, which marks the victory of the Soviet Union over Nazi Germany in World War II.
Putin each year has tried to mark the occasion and has revived his attempts to paint Ukraine and Zelensky, who is Jewish, as a regime of neo-Nazis and his invasion of Ukraine as a mission of denazification.
Gerasimov also said on Saturday that Russia has indeed deployed North Korean troops to the frontlines after Russian officials had avoided any public acknowledgements for months.
In his comments made during the meeting with Putin, Gerasimov hailed the North Korean soldiers for their “considerable assistance,” saying that “soldiers and officers of the Korean People’s Army were accomplishing combat objectives shoulder to shoulder with Russian servicemen and in the process of repelling the Ukrainian incursion showed high professionalism and displayed endurance, courage and heroism in combat.”
Russia previously did not confirm or deny the presence of North Korean troops in Kursk, but media outlets widely reported that the two nations had signed a mutual defense pact that would see Pyongyang supply Moscow with a significant number of missiles and munitions and troops, while Russia would provide air-defense equipment and “economic aid in various forms.”
The State Department confirmed in mid-November that North Korean soldiers were “engaging in combat operations with Russian forces” after undergoing training in how to use drones, artillery, and carry out “basic infantry operations.”
What People Are Saying
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Saturday told reporters: “Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov has reported to Supreme Commander-in-Chief Vladimir Putin that the operation to liberate the Kursk Region from Ukrainian neo-Nazis has been completed.”
President Donald Trump wrote in part on Truth Social on Saturday: “…This is Sleepy Joe Biden‘s War, not mine. It was a loser from day one, and should have never happened, and wouldn’t have happened if I were President at the time. I’m just trying to clean up the mess that was left to me by Obama and Biden, and what a mess it is.”
What Happens Next?
Zelensky told journalists on Friday that Ukraine had outlined a list of security guarantees with London this week and will pursue his alternative plan following discussions with Trump in Rome on Saturday.
Putin has yet to respond to Saturday’s developments, but Trump has made clear he intends to make a renewed push to secure a peace deal.
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