New York Times Says Zelenskyy Invaded Kursk To Bolster His Negotiating Position

The New York Times reported that Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been planning on peace talks with Russia in Qatar for weeks as part of a “risky bet” that he could bolster his regime’s negotiating position by inflicting defeats on Moscow. “To engage Russia in a fair negotiation process, the Russians need to face tactical defeats on the battlefield,” the Times quotes Mykhailo Podolyak, a senior Kiev presidential advisor, saying in an interview on Aug. 6, the day the Kursk incursion started. “As these defeats pile up, social unrest will start to stir within Russia.”