02:12Mandatory credit: Pul Pervogo
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region was an attempt to 'raise stakes' ahead of potential peace talks while speaking in an interview with the Russian Rossiya TV channel published on Sunday.
"It’s wrong to raise stakes of authority, to take a more favourable position at the negotiating table. That's not the case. It's a classic scenario, but it doesn't apply to this battle against a huge empire [Russia] that certainly hasn't started fighting in full yet," Lukashenko said.
Ukrainian forces entered Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'.
Earlier this week, the Kursk region's acting government reported that 12 people had been killed and 121 wounded, including ten children. Kursk's acting governor also claimed that "28 settlements are under the enemy's control", with Ukrainian forces advancing to 12 kilometres in depth and 40 kilometres across.
A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
On Tuesday, August 13, AFU Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky claimed that Ukrainian forces controlled '74 settlements', having previously stated that his forces had '1,000 square kilometres' of Russian territory. President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine'.
The US State Department has said that its policy of using US weapons to "target imminent threats just across the border" had not changed and that the incursion had not violated US policy.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Kiev attempts to 'raise stakes' ahead of potential talks - Lukashenko on Ukraine's incursion in Kursk region
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region was an attempt to 'raise stakes' ahead of potential peace talks while speaking in an interview with the Russian Rossiya TV channel published on Sunday.
"It’s wrong to raise stakes of authority, to take a more favourable position at the negotiating table. That's not the case. It's a classic scenario, but it doesn't apply to this battle against a huge empire [Russia] that certainly hasn't started fighting in full yet," Lukashenko said.
Ukrainian forces entered Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'.
Earlier this week, the Kursk region's acting government reported that 12 people had been killed and 121 wounded, including ten children. Kursk's acting governor also claimed that "28 settlements are under the enemy's control", with Ukrainian forces advancing to 12 kilometres in depth and 40 kilometres across.
A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
On Tuesday, August 13, AFU Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky claimed that Ukrainian forces controlled '74 settlements', having previously stated that his forces had '1,000 square kilometres' of Russian territory. President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine'.
The US State Department has said that its policy of using US weapons to "target imminent threats just across the border" had not changed and that the incursion had not violated US policy.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.
Mandatory credit: Pul Pervogo
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko claimed that Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region was an attempt to 'raise stakes' ahead of potential peace talks while speaking in an interview with the Russian Rossiya TV channel published on Sunday.
"It’s wrong to raise stakes of authority, to take a more favourable position at the negotiating table. That's not the case. It's a classic scenario, but it doesn't apply to this battle against a huge empire [Russia] that certainly hasn't started fighting in full yet," Lukashenko said.
Ukrainian forces entered Kursk region on August 6 in an offensive described by Russian President Vladimir Putin as a 'large-scale provocation'.
Earlier this week, the Kursk region's acting government reported that 12 people had been killed and 121 wounded, including ten children. Kursk's acting governor also claimed that "28 settlements are under the enemy's control", with Ukrainian forces advancing to 12 kilometres in depth and 40 kilometres across.
A counter-terrorist operation regime was introduced in the Kursk, Belgorod and Bryansk regions on August 9, while more than 120,000 people have been evacuated from the Kursk border districts.
On Tuesday, August 13, AFU Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky claimed that Ukrainian forces controlled '74 settlements', having previously stated that his forces had '1,000 square kilometres' of Russian territory. President Volodymyr Zelensky described the attack as 'purely [a] security issue for Ukraine'.
The US State Department has said that its policy of using US weapons to "target imminent threats just across the border" had not changed and that the incursion had not violated US policy.
Moscow launched a military offensive in Ukraine in late February 2022 after recognising the independence of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics (DPR and LPR), claiming that Kiev had failed to guarantee their special status under the 2014 Minsk Agreements, and urging Ukraine to declare itself officially neutral and give assurances that it would never join NATO.
Kiev denounced the Russian action as an invasion. Zelensky imposed martial law throughout the country, announcing a general mobilisation, while the EU and the US imposed several rounds of sanctions on Moscow.