Russia rules out peace talks as Zelensky says Kursk campaign a success

A Ukrainian soldier walks past at a city centre in Sudzha, Kursk region, Russia, Friday, Aug. 16, 2024. This image was approved by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry before publication.(AP photo)

The Kremlin on Monday ruled out entering peace talks with Ukraine over Kiev's surprise offensive into Russian territory, which Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said was meeting its goals.

Ukraine sent troops over the border on Aug. 6 and has since held onto a part of the western Kursk region, in the biggest attack on Russian soil since Moscow invaded in February 2022.

The move has rattled Moscow and taken Ukraine's Western allies by surprise.

Kiev has said the offensive aims to stretch Russian forces, create a "buffer zone," and bring the conflict "closer" to an end on "fair" terms.

Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Monday that it had pushed the prospect of peace talks further away.

"At the current stage, given this escapade, we will not talk."

He called entering a negotiating process "completely inappropriate" and said future talks "depend on the situation on the battlefield, including in the Kursk region."

Moscow, intent on not letting the offensive affect its advance in eastern Ukraine, claimed another village in the war-battered Donetsk region on Monday.

Bracing for a further assault, Ukraine ordered the evacuation of families from the key city of Pokrovsk as Moscow's forces inched closer to the logistics hub.

Zelensky, meanwhile, said his troops in Kursk—who have set up administrative offices and published previously unthinkable footage of Ukrainian soldiers patrolling Russian streets—are meeting their targets.

"We are achieving our goals. This morning we have another replenishment of the ...