Russia says Ukraine's incursion into Kursk region has ended any possibility of peace talks

By Elena Teslova

MOSCOW (AA) - Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Wednesday that Ukraine's incursion into Russia’s Kursk region "annuls the possibility of any peace talks."

Speaking at a news conference in Moscow, Zakharova slammed Kyiv’s attack on Kursk as a "terrorist raid,” saying that after such "outrage, no one will negotiate with them (the Ukrainian authorities) at all."

“This attempt by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to invade our territory a priori -- I will emphasize once again what was said by the Russian leadership, a priori -- annuls any possibility of any negotiations with the bandit junta,” she stressed.

Zakharova said that by launching the incursion, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy hoped to strengthen his position, improve his image in the eyes of his country's citizens and get more financing from the West.

She then denounced "as lies" statements by Western politicians claiming that Kyiv worked out and implemented the plan without their support.

"The US, Britain and (other) NATO countries, in the first turn the Anglo-Saxon duet, are not only ideological inspirers and sponsors but literally gunners who direct the Kyiv regime at targets on the territory of the Russian Federation. Therefore, their statements that this is taking place without the support of the West are lies," she said.

Airspace over two Russian cities -- Murmansk and Apatity -- were closed due to the threat of drone attacks.

Russian and Ukrainian forces continue to clash in the Kursk region, where Kyiv launched an incursion on Aug. 5-6.

Russian authorities said 17 people have been killed and 140 injured and more than 121,000 evacuated since the start of Kyiv’s incursion.

Zelenskyy claimed that Kyiv had captured 92 Russian settlements, describing the objective of the operation as the “establishment of a buffer zone.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the incursion as a "terrorist attack."