INTERNACIONAL
Russia faces «difficult fight» to retake Ukraine-held area, says top US spy
Russian President Vladimir Putin will mount a counteroffensive to try to retake territory in the Kursk region captured by Ukrainian troops, but Russian forces will encounter «a difficult fight,» Deputy CIA Director David Cohen said on Wednesday.
Cohen told a national security industry conference that the significance of the Ukrainian incursion, which has overrun some 300 square miles (777 square km) of the Russian province, remained to be seen.
PUTIN HITS UKRAINE WITH 200 MISSILES, DRONES IN MASSIVE STRIKES AMID INVASION ON RUSSIAN HOMELAND
Ukrainian forces crashed through Russia’s western border into the Kursk region on Aug. 6 in a surprise offensive that is continuing.
While Kyiv has said it has no intention of annexing the area it has captured, Ukrainian troops are building defensive lines and it appears that they intend to retain «some of that territory for some period of time,» Cohen told the Intelligence and National Security Summit.
«We can be certain that Putin will mount a counteroffensive to try to reclaim that territory,» Cohen said. «I think our expectation is that that will be a difficult fight for the Russians.»
Putin, he said, «is not only going to have to face the fact that there is a front line now within Russian territory that he’s going to have to deal with, he has to deal with reverberations back in his own society that they have lost a piece of Russian territory.»
Ukraine’s success in Kursk «has the potential to change the dynamic» of the conflict «a little bit going forward,» he continued without elaborating.
Ukraine has claimed the capture of 100 settlements in its incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, while Russian forces continue to inch forward in the eastern Donetsk region.
Cohen said that Russia has been making those gains «at extraordinary cost» in troops and equipment and «may or may not» capture the key Ukrainian logistics hub city of Pokrovsk.
«But at the end of the day, none of it is a game changer in a strategic sense» for the Russians, he continued.
On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the war with Russia would eventually end in dialogue, but that Kyiv had to be in a strong position and that he would present a plan to U.S. President Joe Biden and his two potential successors.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Putin has said any deal needs to start with Ukraine’s acceptance of «realities on the ground,» that would leave Russia with possession of substantial chunks of four Ukrainian regions as well as Crimea.
Ukraine says it controls more than 1,200 square km (463 square miles) of the Kursk region.
INTERNACIONAL
ISIS leaders killed in Western Iraq raid paired with Iraqi Security Forces: CENTCOM
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on Friday a raid which resulted in the death of 14 ISIS terror operatives in Western Iraq.
Of the 14 operatives, four were ISIS leaders: Ahmad Hamid Husayn Abd-al-Jalil al-Ithawi, Abu Hammam, Abu-‘Ali al-Tunisi, and Shakir Abud Ahmad al-Issawi.
US, IRAQ TEAM UP TO KILL 15 ISIS OPERATIVES IN EARLY MORNING RAID, US MILITARY SAYS
The raid occurred on August 29 and was conducted in partnership with Iraqi Security Forces.
According to CENTCOM, the responsibilities of the four ISIS leaders who were killed involved military and technical operations in Iraq.
«This operation targeted ISIS leaders and served to disrupt and degrade ISIS’ ability to plan, organize, and conduct attacks against Iraqi civilians, as well as U.S. citizens, allies, and partners throughout the region and beyond,» read CENTCOM’s statement.
3 YEARS AFTER US WITHDRAWAL FROM AFGHANISTAN, ISRAEL LOOKS TO LESSONS LEARNED FROM WAR ON TERROR
ISIS, or the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, «is a Salafi-jihadist group that has conducted and inspired terrorist attacks worldwide, resulting in thousands killed or injured» according to the Department of National Intelligence.
ISIS’ current leader is Abu al-Hassan al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, who took the role in February 2022.
«CENTCOM remains committed to the enduring defeat of ISIS, who continues to threaten the United States, our allies and partners, and regional stability,» said Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla, Commander, U.S. Central Command.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
CENTCOM did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
-
POLITICA2 días ago
«Si quieren expulsarnos, que lo hagan ya»: uno de los diputados que cambió su voto calentó la interna radical y contó qué les dijo Milei
-
POLITICA2 días ago
Javier Milei celebró el apoyo al veto a la reforma jubilatoria: “Le pusieron un freno a los degenerados fiscales”
-
CHIMENTOS1 día ago
Alarma el estado de Jorge Lanata tras su traslado: «Estado vegetativo»
-
POLITICA15 horas ago
Paro en Aerolíneas Argentinas: la respuesta de Biró al Gobierno tras el despido de tres pilotos
-
POLITICA1 día ago
Un dirigente sindical habló de “reventar la Plaza de Mayo” si Javier Milei veta el presupuesto universitario
-
INTERNACIONAL3 días ago
«Tercera Guerra Mundial», «Venezuela con esteroides» y «Nos vendió a China», las frases más picantes del debate entre Kamala Harris y Donald Trump