In an interview with Russian media, Russian President Vladimir Putin commented on yesterday's fighting on the border of Belgorod and Kursk regions. He linked them to the Russian presidential election.
"The main goal, I have no doubt about it, is to, if not disrupt the presidential elections in Russia, then at least somehow interfere with the normal process of expressing the will of citizens," the Russian president said.
At the same time, he claims that the attacks are taking place against the backdrop of "the failures of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the front, so Kyiv wants to achieve an informational effect through drone strikes and sabotage."
In addition, Putin linked the border raids to the negotiations.
"If at least something works out, to get some chance, some argument, some trump card in a possible future negotiation process: well, we will give you back this, and you will give us back that," he said, noting that Ukraine will continue to try to attack Russian regions "in some other areas."
