Ukraine's Kursk Attack Ends Possibility of Peace Talks: Russian Official

A top Russian official on Wednesday said Ukraine's incursion into Russia's Kursk region has ended "any possibility" of peace negotiations between the two countries.

The Associated Press (AP) reported that Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, made the comment while speaking with reporters in Moscow.

Earlier in the month, Ukraine launched its offensive operation in Kursk Oblast as war continues to rage between the two nations since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Thousands of Russians have been evacuated from Kursk and the surrounding regions, while armed clashes intensify across southwestern Russia following Ukraine's unexpected cross-border raid.

"Who will negotiate with them after this, after the atrocities, the terror that they are committing against peaceful residents, the civilian population, civilian infrastructure and peaceful facilities," Zakharova said, per the AP.

Zakharova's remarks came on the same day that Moscow reported being targeted in a massive drone attack. Russian officials reported the country's air defenses successfully intercepted 11 Ukrainian drones over Moscow in what the Kremlin described as "one of the largest" drone attacks ever against the capital.

"Eleven drones were destroyed" over Moscow and its surrounding region, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.

"This is one of the largest ever attempts to attack Moscow with drones," Moscow mayor Sergei Sobyanin said.

Sobyanin added that no casualties had been reported and no damage was sustained during the attempted drone assault.

Russian social media channels circulated videos showing drones seemingly being intercepted by air defense systems, triggering car alarms in the process. Independent verification of the drone attack was not available.

Meanwhile, Alexander Bogomaz—the governor of Russia's Bryansk region, which shares a border with Kursk and Ukraine—posted a message on his Telegram channel on Wednesday in which he called Ukrainian troops a "sabotage and reconnaissance group."

Bogomaz also noted that Russian forces were able to stop a push from Ukrainian troops in the region.

Earlier this week, reports detailed how Ukrainian troops destroyed a third bridge over the Seym River used to prop up Russian military logistics in the Kursk region.

U.S.-supplied HIMARS, or High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, were used to take out at least one of the brides, according to Moscow.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also spoke on Sunday about the ongoing offensive operation in Kursk, saying "it is now our primary task in defensive operations overall, to destroy as much Russian war potential as possible," the Kyiv Independent reported.

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