Former US Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan said in an interview with CNN that he expects Russian President Vladimir Putin to take decisive action to push Ukraine out of the Kursk region.
"Putin will respond as decisively as he can to push the Ukrainians out," Sullivan said on Monday regarding Ukraine's offensive in Russia's Kursk region.
Last week, Ukrainian forces crossed the border into Russia and launched an offensive in the Kursk region. Commenting on the attack, Putin said that Ukraine had carried out another large-scale provocation, firing indiscriminately at civilian targets.
Earlier in the day, acting regional governor Alexei Smirnov said that 28 settlements in the region had come under Ukrainian control.