‘The liberation of Donbas territories is the primary goal of the Russian military operation in Ukraine’, – Putin

The primary goal of the Russian army is the liberation of Donbas.

This was stated by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

According to him, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) attempted to make the Russian side “nervous, scramble, redeploy troops from one area to another, and halt the advance on key fronts, primarily in Donbas” by invading the Kursk region. However, this did not happen: by sending prepared units to the Kursk region, “the enemy weakened itself,” and the Russian army accelerated offensive operations, Putin said. “There haven’t been such territorial gains in a long time,” he emphasized, adding that they “are measured in square kilometers.” Moreover, Putin suggested that due to significant losses in personnel and equipment, the Ukrainian front in Donbas could collapse.

He also noted that a month after the UAF invasion, the Russian army “stabilized the situation” in the Kursk region and began “gradually pushing out” Ukrainian forces. “It is the sacred duty of the Armed Forces to do everything to drive the enemy out of these territories and reliably protect our citizens,” Putin added.

The UAF invaded the Kursk region on August 6 and managed to capture about 1,300 square kilometers of territory, including around 100 settlements, reported Ukrainian army commander Oleksandr Syrskyi. Meanwhile, the Russian army, according to the Ukrainian project DeepState, accelerated its advance in Donbas: while in June and July, it was capturing 5–10 square kilometers per day, by mid-August, this had increased to 15–20 square kilometers.

At the same time, the Russian army has moved closer to Pokrovsk—a key logistical hub through which Ukrainian forces in the Donetsk region are supplied. “Now the entire front in the central sector of Donetsk is at risk of collapsing,” noted Bild military analyst Julian Röpcke. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also described the situation around Pokrovsk as “extremely difficult.” Earlier, Ukrainian authorities announced the evacuation of the 20,000-person city and nearby villages.

The Kremlin decided not to redeploy forces from the Ukrainian front to the Kursk region, according to Bloomberg sources close to Russian authorities. They said that the General Staff plans to use conscripts to counter the first invasion of foreign troops on Russian soil since World War II.