Nick Schifrin:
Moscow certainly claims a level of momentum, especially in Northeast Ukraine. Let’s take a look at the map.
Over the weekend, Russia claimed it recaptured the entirety of Kursk, which Ukraine partially occupied last August. You see that in blue up top there. Ukraine says the fighting is ongoing, but it admits it has lost much of what it captured. Analysts at the Institute of the Study of War, who help us produce these maps, say that as North Korean and Russian soldiers have moved toward that area in Kursk that Ukraine captured, they have turned that into an offensive in the Ukrainian territory of Sumy.
Russia also said that it captured the settlement of Kamianka today. That is in Kharkiv. And you saw a video today of Russia flying the Russian flag in that little settlement. The U.S. proposal actually suggests that, while the U.S. would give de facto recognition to Russian occupation in four territories, it would have to give back territory that you’re seeing there that Russia has captured in Kharkiv.
Now, as I just quickly mentioned, Russia says that a lot of the progress that it’s made in Kursk is thanks to North Korea. And, today, for the first time, we saw both Moscow and Pyongyang admit publicly that North Korean troops have been helping.
And you see that video right there, the first video, official video released by Russia showing North Korean troops training in Russia. Geoff, the suggestion that analysts tell me is that, given the timing of that video and these announcements at this sensitive diplomatic point, that that alliance between Russia and North Korea could well become part of leverage that Russia uses in the peace talks.
